Where in the World are Sans and Frisk?
by Tsuki the Wolf
Summary: Sans had plans to go on a road trip one day to see where all of the shortcuts in the world lead to. It could be dangerous and it could take a long time to do. Frisk, just graduated from high school, decides that this is a great summer vacation opportunity. (Romantic Sans/Frisk Asexual Relationship)
1. Prologue

**A/N: A slight AU of my "Dreams of the Past and Present" series. I say "slight" because you can consider it canon or not canon. It takes place when Frisk is eighteen and is now romantically involved with Sans. If you're squicked by the bone-zone, there won't be any here. There will be possible mentions of things that happened in DotPP but this story can be read alone too.**

 **The only thing I really need to add is that in this AU Frisk has been practicing magic with the monsters (because my headcanon is that humans can use magic, but they need to be taught) so they know basic color and fire magic. They're still learning.**

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 **Prologue**

Frisk had always known that one day Sans was going to go on a road trip that would last a while. Well, he said "road trip" but it wasn't going to include nearly as much road as most people did when they took a "road trip". The whole of the surface world was available for monsters to explore in a way many had not done. Now that most of the politics were dealt with, with the exception of a few countries, monsters could go anywhere a human could. And Sans had access to shortcuts which could quite literally take you anywhere in the world. He had already explored most of the portals within a ten mile radius in the past nearly six years that monsters had been on the surface, but there were a few he didn't explore. Those were the ones that would take him to farther away places than a few miles.

He had been holding off, for the most part, for Frisk's sake as well as his brother's. Sans had no idea how long it would take him to satisfy his exploration need, so he had been lazing about in Ebott with his friends while Frisk went to high school and Papyrus made a place for himself in the world. Now, though, Frisk had free time. They had finally graduated from high school, and Frisk could use a much-needed break from politics. Also, Papyrus was fine on his own. He was happy with his physical therapist job, and he had been somewhat pushing for Sans to branch out. Actually, Papyrus had been a little up-front about wanting Sans and Frisk to go on a romantic vacation together just because he was tired of them "never doing anything with their lives". Frisk was always busy, thank you very much.

So Frisk suggested the road trip to Sans. It would fulfill one of Sans's biggest dreams to really travel the world, and it would give Frisk and Sans the alone time that Frisk had been craving. Frisk loved their family and friends very much but sometimes they just wanted to cuddle with Sans in peace without anyone around. And not just in the middle of the night.

Toriel and Asgore had been slightly reluctant only because they worried about Frisk's job and the fact it would be the first time Frisk would be leaving home. But they were both aware Frisk was an adult, and so they gave their blessings. "Just do not get married without us there!" Asgore had joked and Frisk had blushed a little. If they were going to marry Sans, then it wasn't going to be some quick thing in some foreign country. Hopefully.

Undyne and Alphys had been excited and slightly jealous when they were told at Frisk's graduation party. Undyne had done the most traveling the past couple of years for her job, so she wasn't quite AS upset, but Alphys had places that she wanted to go to. Like Japan. And conventions in other countries. And to the Kennedy Space Center. And the North Pole. Frisk promised to take as many pictures as possible and to mail them souvenirs.

"if we end up in japan, we _anime_ get you stuff." Sans joked. Alphys was unimpressed. Frisk promised to get her plenty of stuff.

Papyrus had been both happy and sad when he had been told. The three of them in many ways had been in a partnership of sorts. Sans and Frisk may have been dating, but Papyrus had been very much a large part of their relationship. Frisk loved Papyrus just as much (but not quite in the same way) as Sans and it would be difficult to leave him behind on his own. "DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!" Papyrus said, "I HAVE PLENTY OF FRIENDS! SO I'M NEVER ALONE! JUST MAKE SURE TO CALL, OKAY? AND KEEP YOUR BLOG UPDATED BECAUSE I'LL BE LOOKING EVERY DAY, FRISK!"

So soon after it was decided, Sans and Frisk packed up some travelling bags and got ready to leave. Ebott would always be here for them to come back to, and Frisk's parents would be here if they needed a place to rest. Sans would make sure to keep an accurate map of where shortcuts are and where they lead to. Apparently in his free time he had created a program for it on both his computer and phone. This was combined with a very accurate GPS which would hopefully work anywhere. It wasn't like Sans had really tested it in extreme environments.

Sans threw both of their bags into his pocket dimension (Frisk could hear the bones as they clanked together) and the both of them climbed onto his moped. There was no telling where they would be going, but the early dawn was very poetic and exciting. Frisk grinned and hid their face into the back of Sans's loose hoodie. "Where first?" They asked.

"guess we'll head over to the next town first." Sans suggested and the two zoomed off. Frisk still didn't really like the thought of taking the moped through shortcuts but it was the quickest way to get started. And Frisk had to get used to it. Eventually, though, Sans planned on traveling on foot because they didn't expect to always wind up in an area where the moped would be able to go. Frisk didn't know where or when they would drop off the moped.

The beginning of the trip was a little longer than expected so the sun was fully up by the time they arrived at the first mysterious shortcut. Frisk had been around Sans long enough that they had begun to recognize the shortcuts when they see them. Or rather, sense them. The shortcuts couldn't actually be seen. But Frisk wasn't focused on the shortcut and was instead looking upwards at the skyscrapers. They were in Frisk's old city. Was this on purpose? Sans was watching them.

Sans's hand found Frisk's and squeezed it. Frisk looked at him. Their face was slightly confused. "thought you might wanna say goodbye to this too." He said. Frisk blinked and then really looked around them. There was an old pain in their heart remembering their human parents. They weren't even sure if their old parents lived here any longer or if they had moved on. Frisk hadn't kept in contact because they didn't need to. There was nothing to say goodbye to here but nonetheless Frisk was a little happy that Sans had brought them here. But they were ready to go.

Sans released Frisk's hand and grabbed hold of the handlebars. It was the first day of summer vacation and the whole world was open to them. Frisk took one moment to snap a picture on their phone of the view of the city looking upwards -one of Frisk's favorite views of any city- before Sans took them both through the shortcut to who knows where.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Feel free to look up any coordinates to see where they are! (When/If I provide any in future chapters)**

 **This chapter is a little stale. It'll pick up, I swear. There's no real plot, remember, so just enjoy the ride. The story is a mixture of just cute stuff and shenanigans.**

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Frisk lifted their head and the visor of their helmet as Sans pulled off to the side of the road they had both landed on. The heat of the day was overwhelming, and Frisk could practically feel their arms beginning to burn. They squinted against the glare while Sans pulled out his tracking device to log where they both were. Frisk leaned over his shoulder and tapped their helmet against his. He was focused on the clicking of buttons (since touchscreens were rendered unusable to a monster without body heat. Or skin), but he did tap his head back.

"Hot." Frisk stated.

"scorching." Sans agreed and finally looked up and around them. There was only scrub grass over the relatively flat landscape. However they were on a paved road, and there were light poles. He looked to see where the road led, but it was a straight line that disappeared into the distance. A truck drove by on the road running parallel to the one they were on and Frisk caught the license plate.

"America."

"34°58'16.7"N 110°28'29.6"W." Sans muttered.

"Useful." Frisk replied blandly. Sans pinched their arm, not appreciating their sarcasm. He shot Frisk a look that made Frisk grin a little. Frisk had developed a mild case of sarcastic asshole over the years and couldn't resist using it against Sans just because they knew he didn't like it. They motioned with their hands asking where they were actually at.

"arizona." Sans responded as a couple more cars passed by. The highway was slightly busy. Frisk was melting in their helmet. Sans shifted on the moped as he readied them to leave.

"Any other shortcuts?" Frisk asked.

"not that i can sense." It was ridiculous how hot it was when the sun has only been up for a short time. If it was this hot now, it would probably be even hotter later. Ugh. Sans pulled back onto the highway and Frisk lowered their visor so they could see. Sans continued, "we'll just keep going 'til we find one." Who knew how long that would take? The wind felt good on Frisk's arms but they didn't doubt they would start burning at this rate. If they didn't find another shortcut soon, they would need to buy sunscreen. Frisk hadn't even considered sunscreen when packing.

The stretch of highway was actually fairly boring. Sans was speeding as usual. The police in these parts probably didn't know about Sans and his escape-artist tendencies, so speeding would probably get them arrested. Monsters weren't immune to the laws, after all. But Frisk knew pointing this out to Sans would be pointless. Heh. They squeezed Sans a little and he glanced back at them. Frisk was grinning at their own joke but the skeleton couldn't see. Sans was just glad they seemed to be enjoying themselves. It would be a long trip.

"y'know..." He said to Frisk over the internal headset both helmets contained, "there's probably lots of shortcuts out there." He pointed to the scrubland. Frisk agreed, but the moped wouldn't be able to drive across the sand.

"Magic?" They suggested.

"no traction."

Good point. Frisk hummed and tilted their head. They could, of course, still head out that way. But that would require abandoning the moped already. That'd be pointless, but the next shortcut they come across could take forever to get to. Frisk put their chin on Sans's shoulder with a sigh.

"Sunscreen."

"nah, don't need it."

Frisk rolled their eyes. "For me."

"the sun really that bad?"

"If you start smelling bacon, it may be me."

"i'll keep an ear hole out for squealin'." Sans joked. Frisk tapped their helmet against his as they gave a huff of a laugh. "don't get burnt out already."

"Sans." Frisk tried to sound serious, but Sans's stupid puns had a direct line to their funny bone.

"we'll pull over for sunscreen for your poor sensitive skin." And then, under his breath, "humans. you're all hilarious."

"I can't help that my skeleton is protected by skin...You'll be bleached."

"you watch that kinky mouth of yours."

"Or what?" Frisk asked. Sans shot a look at Frisk and Frisk tutted before signing at him to keep his eyes on the road.

"i don't have eyes."

"They _eyes_ caped."

"heh heh heh heh. beat me to that one."

The ride really did prove to be long. Frisk and Sans both kept their senses open for any sign of a shortcut, but they never found anything. The road they were on was actually rather boring. They went back and forth between bursts of talking and long silences. It must have been an hour before Sans decided it was time to risk a town to get sunscreen and possibly find a shortcut. Frisk could already feel it was too late for their skin, though. Sans poked at their reddening arms.

"what's up with your skin?" He asked as the two of them walked into the nearest Wal-Mart. Frisk was a little put-out and didn't respond. They rubbed their arm. It wasn't stinging yet, but it would be soon enough. "fever?" Sans continued.

"Burnt." Frisk muttered.

"jeez. ...do you still need sunscreen?"

"Yes."

"k." Frisk wasn't sure how they felt about this start to the adventure. It seemed rather boring. Not that being with Sans was boring, but rather because they expected something exciting from the beginning. After all, Frisk's last real adventure started out with them being killed right away.

They found the sunscreen and Sans looked disinterestedly through the labels. Frisk snapped a picture of the skeleton staring at one of the bottles before the human grabbed one. They then went to pay. While in line, Frisk posted it to their blog with the caption: **First stop, Wally World.**

"here." Sans held out some money to Frisk. The human frowned at it and raised an eyebrow. "pay for your stuff. gonna go look at something." Frisk nodded and Sans walked off. He wandered a couple aisles away as the back of his neck tingled. There was a shortcut nearby. He just needed to find out where. Honestly a super store was a shitty place for a shortcut. Then again, Grillby's and New Grillby's both had one, so Sans couldn't really complain. He paused in front of the car supplies area and tilted his head. He could see a very slight difference in the air here. It was like looking at heat over a flat surface on a hot day...but only for a split moment. He logged the location into his tracking device before he rejoined Frisk. They were standing with their bag in hand and rubbing the lotion onto their skin. Their cheeks and nose were a hilarious shade of pink. Almost like they were blushing.

"there's a shortcut over in the car supplies." He informed them and they perked up a bit. "head on over 'n i'll meet ya." He pointed his thumb back the way he came.

Frisk frowned and signed to him: _"Why meet?"_

"gotta get the 'ped." Sans stated before he wandered off. Frisk didn't think that sounded too good, but they listened and headed back to the car parts. After they got close enough, they noticed where the shortcut was. They took a breath. This would be the first time they had ever gone through a portal on their own. But they were an adult so they could do this. They focused inwardly to their soul and tugged at the magic that sat there before they stepped forward out of Wal-Mart...

...and onto a beach. Frisk blinked as their eyes stared out over the ocean. This couldn't be Arizona, they didn't think. It was daylight and the heat wasn't nearly as stifling as the Arizona desert. Where were they? Frisk stepped away from the shortcut and across the sand to look around them. There were a few people already out and set up on the beach ready to begin their day. Not surprising considering summer vacation had started recently. The brine in the air was a little refreshing. None of the people seemed to have noticed another human being appearing from thin air.

However they did notice a moped suddenly fly onto the sand and get stuck in the loose ground. Sans cursed, but he was grinning as he pulled off his helmet and climbed off of his vehicle. "those guys probably are freaking out." Sans stated and he motioned towards the shortcut. He looked down at his slippers where they were slowly being filled in with sand. He quickly pulled out his device to log where they were at. Frisk waited patiently and started applying more lotion to their face. It may not be as hot as Arizona, but it was still hot. They considered asking Sans for their sunglasses.

"california." He answered the human's unasked question. "edge of it." He glanced out towards the ocean. Frisk walked over to the moped and applied some blue magic to it to make it lighter. They then tugged the thing out of the dirt and held it aloft. They tilted their head in question. Sans, in response, opened up his pocket dimension and shoved the moped into it. Oh, so that's what he was going to do with it.

"wanna swim?" He asked.

"Break already?" They had only been on the road about an hour and a half now. In response Sans pulled off his jacket and tossed it onto the sand before flopping onto his back. Frisk sat down and joined him. Sans pulled out two pairs of sunglasses and handed one pair over. "Umbrella." Frisk complained.

"go get one, then." Frisk put on their sunglasses and pulled their knees to their chest to stare out over the ocean. They snapped a picture of it on their phone before laying down next to Sans. They laid their head on his arm and held the phone up to snap a selfie. Sans added bunny ears to the picture. Once the two pictures were uploaded to Frisk's blog -their internet reception was great ever since Alphys had upgraded their phone- Frisk tucked the phone into the jacket pocket and closed their eyes. The sound of the ocean and the cry of gulls on the wind were nice. Living on the beach probably was nice.

Sans's hand found Frisk's hair and began to stroke it. "smells like sunscreen." He told them.

"Smells like salt." Frisk shot back.

"don't be so salty."

"...That saying is old."

"salty." Sans repeated with a tug on Frisk's hair.

Actually, this start wasn't too bad, Frisk decided. They relaxed and allowed the day to roll over them. Maybe they would go swimming before they moved on. Who knew when next they would see the ocean? It was still early in the trip, but it wouldn't be good to pass up an opportunity. And also it would be a good time to see if Sans could swim. He couldn't keep avoiding swimming forever.

"...Anywhere you want to visit?" Frisk questioned. "Specifically, I mean."

Sans considered it. He also considered rolling onto his side and switching their positions. Frisk's squishy human body was nice to nap on, and this sun was making him sleepy. It wouldn't do to have a sleepy driver at the handlebars. "...somewhere pap wants to see pictures of." He finally decided as he acted on his plan to switch their positions. It was much easier for him to lay on his side in the sand because he could just bury his shoulder bone into the sand.

"That's everywhere." Frisk said.

"exactly."

"Not specific."

Sans snored in response. Frisk let the question go. There would be plenty of time. They just hoped that they did go wherever Sans wanted to. It would be nice if they both got something good out of this. Frisk took a moment to pull their phone out and snap another selfie. Sans's glasses were all askew, and part of the frames were starting to enter his eye socket. Papyrus and Toriel would enjoy that one. For now, Frisk decided, they would enjoy the beach. Hello, sunny California!


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: So since this story doesn't have a particular plot, the chapters will range in size. Don't know if I've already said that. Anyway, enjoy!**

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Frisk jolted awake a little suddenly from their nap and immediately started squinting. It was ridiculously bright out. They weren't used to it being this bright or hot. And they were in the shade. Frisk ran a hand over their face and realized that their sunglasses had come off. Then they noticed that they were under a large umbrella. They looked around themselves and saw they were completely shaded. Poking at their skin caused a slight sting, but not nearly as bad as it would've been if they had been sleeping in the sun for who-knows-how long.

Their boyfriend is missing. Frisk scoped the beach up and down, but there was no sign of Sans. Weird. It was nice of him to actually get an umbrella, but where had he gone? Perhaps he went to see if there was another shortcut nearby. It was surprising that he had woken up before Frisk had, but then again they had gotten up at dawn and they hadn't slept much the night before. Sans had napped earlier that day and was fairly awake in the evening. He had been feeling active, but lazy. So he would lay in bed and refuse to get out of it, but he'd move and roll around a lot. He had kept Frisk up because he had been bored, but he hadn't let Frisk leave. It was as cute as it was annoying to see that side of him, mostly because it really did show the relation between the skeleton brothers. They were more alike than either admitted.

Frisk relaxed onto their elbows and stared out into the waves. The crowd on the beach was much larger now that it wasn't nearly dawn and the water was full of bodies. Excited students free from school ran up and down the beach and shouted playfully at each other. It made Frisk think of the times they had gone to the beach with their friends before. They wondered what Onion-san was up to.

"Heya." Frisk looked up from their zoning out to see a guy about their age standing over them. He was very tan with black hair and a bright grin. His chest was rather hairy and he was dripping from swimming. Frisk recognized the look in his eyes. He nodded to Frisk's feet. "Don'cha know that ya don't wear shoes on da beach?"

Frisk shrugged.

"Ya look like ya just came from town. Ya here alone?"

Frisk shook their head.

"Any other cuties like you?"

This guy wasn't Frisk's type. He seemed a little pushy. Frisk thought that it was common sense that if a person doesn't verbally respond to you, it tended to mean they were indifferent towards advances. Maybe it was different in California? Frisk brought their knees to their chest and sighed before looking at the guy. They really didn't want to deal with this.

"Not much of a talker? That's pretty cute. Name's Perry." He moved like he was going to join Frisk under the umbrella when another voice chimed in,

"hey pal, it's not nice to just invite yourself to someone else's party." Both Frisk and Perry looked to see Sans grinning with his hands full of Nice Cream. He winked at them. "'specially when it's a party of two."

"What da fuck?!" Perry jumped backwards at the sight of Sans. "A fuckin' skeleton?!"

"Where?" Frisk asked, looking around pretending to be confused. Sans almost laughed at that. They were becoming such a little shit. Perry didn't fall for it and instead looked a little offended.

"What da fuck is dis shit? You with a monster?"

Frisk nodded. "yeah, see, the two of us are best pals." Sans said as he moved to Frisk's side. He nudged the human with his leg and Frisk stood up with a stretch. "the bestest. so best, there's already a ring on their finger." Frisk held up their hand where the little ruby heart ring Sans had gotten them for Valentine's Day all those years ago (refitted, of course, to account for Frisk's growing fingers) glittered in the sunlight.

Perry just looked even more disgusted. Sans couldn't believe how many racists (or speciest?) people there were out there. Humans took fucking forever to adapt to new things. "I can't believe there are skeleton fuckers out there!"

Frisk knew that if this continued, it would probably turn into a fight. Sans was pretty chill, but Frisk could see he was getting annoyed. He could be surprisingly jealous sometimes and it looked like Mr. Perry had caught him on one of those days. So Frisk took things into their own hands.

They wrapped their arms around Sans's shoulders and hummed loudly before taking a long sensuous lick off of the soft serve Nice Cream. "Ohhhhhhh yeeesssss!" Frisk channeled Mettaton and Sans was two seconds away from losing his shit already. "See, skeletons are the _best_ to fuck with. Nobody has bigger _bone_ rs." Frisk took another lick and stuck their tongue out to Sans.

Sans opened his mouth and accepted it with a moan he learned straight from human pornography. He swallowed and grinned with half-lidded eyes. "damn, baby, you're a real _bone_ ified tease." Frisk took one of the Nice Creams and Sans pulled their hips flush to his. "calcium ain't the only thing that can harden these bones."

"THAT'S FUCKIN' GROSS!" Perry shouted and took off. The amount of disgust in his voice finally made both Frisk and Sans crack and start laughing. Sans's eye flashed blue briefly when he was certain Frisk couldn't see, and he changed the gravity around Perry so the guy tripped and fell on his face. Sans pressed his face into Frisk's neck to muffle his own giggles while Frisk just tried not to drop their melting ice cream.

"That was so stupid." Frisk muttered right before they snorted with laughter. Which only made Sans laugh harder.

"that was great, kid." Sans denied as he calmed down and pulled away with mirth causing the lights in his eyes to appear more like sparkling stars than their usual circles. Frisk licked some of their soft serve in an effort not to kiss him again. They particularly loved it when Sans's eyes looked like stars. It was a better treat than the Nice Cream was. "were you going for mettaton earlier?"

Frisk nodded and their hand automatically went down to link with Sans's. The boniness of his hands no longer even registered as strange in their mind.

Sans was still chuckling even as the two started walking. He took a bite out of his Nice Cream. "guess watching porn has its perks." A human mother with a child did a double-take at his words. "even if it's still pretty gross."

Frisk hummed. "To you."

"sinner." Sans accused playfully. He was in a great mood today. He wasn't sure if it was because of the amount of fun he was having, or if it was because of all the adventuring they were doing. Sans hadn't felt this productive in a long time. He usually didn't want to. He had forgotten what it was like to be doing something you loved that wasn't just sleeping. As nice as the beach was, he couldn't wait to move on.

Frisk followed him wherever he went, so he led the way to the shortcut he'd found. It was next to the Nice Cream place, so he had stopped in to get some treats. Even though it wasn't necessary because they had plenty of snacks stored away. And knowing Frisk they probably had their own snacks stored in their own tiny pocket dimension.

The two of them stepped together through the shortcut and Frisk immediately felt the difference in temperature. It was significantly warmer and the air was murky with humidity. They felt like they had just walked into a mist of warm water. It was disgusting. There was an overwhelming scent of sunscreen and fried food. Frisk looked around themselves to see the two of them surrounded by crowds of people all walking around. They were in what looked to be a small town with a paved street but…there was a castle?

Wait. Frisk recognized those ears. But was it possible? Their hand tightened in Sans's. He was currently logging their information in. But Frisk didn't need him to tell them where they were.

This was Disney World. Or was it Land? Frisk wasn't sure which was where in America, but this was Disney. There were Mickey heads everywhere. Frisk had never been to Disney before, but, like all children who grew up on Disney movies, they had wanted to visit Disney. They didn't care that they were eighteen; they just wanted to enjoy.

"looks like we're in florida." Sans said and looked up to see Frisk marveling wide-eyed at everything. That was interesting. He looked around at the stores before his eyes landed on the castle. This looked like a theme park of sorts. Frisk's hand was gripping his tightly. There were also some families staring at him like _he_ was the attraction. He watched the human until Frisk finally turned to acknowledge him. Their eyes were sparkling in the bright sunlight. Considering how much his pal squinted, this was a rare occasion indeed to see their eyes. It made his good day turn a little bit greater. "something catch your eye?" He asked.

Frisk looked around them and then held up a finger before dashing away. Sans stuffed his free hand into his pocket and finished off his melting Nice Cream. A child nearby cried out at the sight of him calling Sans a "short Jack". Sans wasn't sure if he should feel weirded out that he immediately got that reference. Actually, now that he thought about it, those mouse heads looked familiar.

Frisk arrived back then carrying a folded up paper. They threw their half-eaten Nice Cream into their pocket dimension before tugging Sans over to the nearest available bench. From there they opened the paper to reveal a map. Sans read the title and saw they were in Disney World. Specifically Magic Kingdom. Sans wasn't too up-to-date with his kid's stuff, but he definitely recognized Disney. Frisk had shown them all their favorite movies from the corporation full of magic. A cheesy kind of magic, but good for kids. Papyrus loved it, but Papyrus loved things like that. Sans found them occasionally entertaining.

Frisk pointed at the map and stared imploringly at Sans. They also pointed at what appeared to be a monorail system. He wasn't sure where it led, but Frisk seemed excited. Sans wondered if maybe they were both too old for this place, but he noticed a couple of interesting rides. Space Mountain sounded fun. And Frisk was still staring at him.

He caved. The shortcuts would continue to be there. And what was the point of a vacation if they didn't stop to see the sights? Plus, they had totally gotten into Disney for free. Might as well make the most of it. "alright kid, where to first?"

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 **A/N: Sans is a fan of some romance, so he's sometimes a sucker for Disney flicks.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: It's been a while since I've updated this. Luckily I haven't been dead. Unfortunately it took a really freaking long time to write this short piece of fiction. I blame Italians (especially a specific one).**

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Frisk, despite being interested by the various colorful and cute stores, had instead tugged Sans along the pathway towards what the map had labeled "Tomorrowland". Whatever that meant. But judging by the rides Sans could see, it looked somewhat futuristic. Or...alien? That was certain an alien. Oh, and there were the monsters from that one movie. It had been somewhat hilarious watching the other monsters discover the movie. Some of them had caused an uproar, but most had found the movie humorous. Sans had thought it was particularly funny because it wasn't too far off when it came to monsters reacting to humans.

Sans supposed that everything was kind of interesting to look at, but he felt that it was trying too hard to seem like it was actual science. But, he supposed, that was the point. This place wouldn't exactly be his idea of a date spot, but...

He looked at Frisk and their wide marveling eyes. They kept getting onto their tiptoes to look around them and gaping. Sans wasn't even sure if they knew they were gaping. Their hand was tight in his as they twisted their head this way and that to make sure they managed to look at everything despite the crowd. Sans didn't really like having to deal with the immense amount of people here, but he was willing to if it put that kind of face on Frisk.

"Space Mountain." Frisk said, pointing in front of them at a large white building.

"space, huh?" Sans asked. Frisk tugged his hand slightly in askance. "sure, why not. not much of a mountain, though."

"Roller coaster." They informed him with a pleased nod.

"not sure if i have the stomach for it, buddo."

"Don't be rattled."

Sans grinned. "you win." He said. Frisk smiled back.

"I know." He pinched their side in response to their sass, making them jump. Frisk, in response, tugged Sans along faster. They chose the side where they could ride together. The line was fairly long, but Frisk was relieved to be inside for most of it. The inside seemed to be decorated like a space station. Further along there were games for idle hands as well as some strange glass made to look like the stars. Sans and Frisk gazed into the fake galaxies and reminisced. Today was still their first day on this trip, but already Frisk felt like they had been everywhere. It was silly that they were already becoming a little homesick.

"...Do you think..." Frisk asked, leaning against the railing that separated their lines, "that we'll go places where we can see...the sky more?"

"what d'ya mean?" Sans asked, leaning against Frisk's chest. He ignored the stares he was receiving. Looked like he would have to get used to being stared at. It wasn't like he hadn't seen a couple of other monsters in these kinds of parks. After all, some monsters are able to comfortably ride human rides. He had already spotted a couple monsters in the crowd earlier.

Frisk rested their chin on his shoulder as they awkwardly waddled forward as the line advanced. When they had come to a stop again and were watching some children play games Frisk continued, "Stars. Galaxies. Without a telescope."

Sans considered it. As far as he knew, most of the world was populated with cities. Monsters were already helping the world with finding new ways of energy usage, but it was a slow process. Because of it all, the atmosphere was still polluted. Sans could only think of a few places where he was certain they would see brilliant views. He was excited to discover other places, though.

"yeah." He answered. Frisk gave him a small delighted hug.

Waiting in line was a hassle, more so for Frisk than for Sans. His feet never actually got tired, but Frisk's did. They kept prodding at their sunburn while Sans napped on and off. It wasn't a problem for him to fall asleep on his feet. When the two of them finally arrived into the room where the actual cars to the rides were, they watched as people zoomed off. Sans couldn't actually see a track when he looked. He hadn't really known there were inside roller coasters. Frisk had called it a "speed" coaster rather than one with flips and such.

When the two of them reached the front and climbed into their seats, an attendant stopped them. "Um...sir? We need to know if...there will be any problems..." The man was trying to be sensitive. Sans couldn't resist causing trouble, though.

"problems?"

"Uh..."

"cause i'm a skeleton, right?" Sans grinned. "think my head'll come off? can i hold it?"

The attendant seemed alarmed. "Sir, you may need to get off."

"i'm kidding. my head is as secure as yours." Sans winked. "don't lose your head over it."

One of the other attendants giggled. Sans grinned wider. The male attendant finally sighed. "You're certain?"

"actually, i'm sans. but yeah. my head's good. we can go a _head_ and ride."

"Sans." Frisk said, a slight warning tone in their voice despite their smile. Sans settled back into his seat and made sure the bar was down low enough and not affected by his magic. He didn't actually need to be flung out of the vehicle. He applied his magic on himself to make his body heavier. Frisk glanced back at him and smiled before the ride started.

After the ride, Frisk was in an even better mood and Sans felt a little infected by it. The ride had been thrilling and, though dark, interesting. They held hands as they passed by cameras with them on "other planets" and jumped on the moving walkways. To the shock of a couple other visitors, Sans and Frisk floated their way past them using magic. The two giggled making Sans feel like they were both children. Frisk hurried them to the next ride.

"people mover?" Sans asked, pointing at the map once they were back out in the heat. "sounds like my kind of ride. absolutely nothing but moving from one place to another."

Frisk scoffed. "Too easy." They declared. "More coasters."

"all thrill rides?" Sans asked as he was tugged along the pathways. "we can take our time, kid."

"Packed." Frisk muttered, eying the crowds.

"true." He agreed. They spent the majority of the day exploring the different areas of Magic Kingdom. Sans personally liked the "Haunted Mansion" best because it reminded him of his fellow monsters, but Frisk seemed to prefer the faster rides. It was only after they suffered through the longer lines did Frisk allow them to slow down and really enjoy everything.

Frisk enjoyed the atmosphere of the amusement park. It was clearly designed to appeal to children and parents, but that was what Frisk liked. They felt like a child again here. That, though, probably made Sans feel like the adult of the relationship which bothered Frisk a little, but he never said anything. They sat and watched parades and complained about the amount of people together. Sans enjoyed the Pirates ride and Frisk snuck pictures on their phone for Papyrus (although they didn't turn out too well).

Frisk put a Goofy hat on Sans's head, smiling at the ears he now had dangling. The hat kept sliding on his bare head every time that he moved. Sans, in retaliation, placed mouse ears on Frisk. They took a picture together. Sans checked his phone and grinned.

"pap's jealous." He said.

"We should bring him sometime." Frisk decided. Sans nudged them.

"break into disney again?" He joked.

Frisk shushed him. "Don't let them know!" They giggled and tugged his hat down to cover his eye sockets before kissing him.

Sans grabbed Frisk's hand as he pushed the hat back out of his face. The lights of his eyes looked like stars again. "is that my motivation?" He asked secretively.

"Yes."

"i'll need more than that." He said, pulling them back for another kiss. Frisk chuckled and accepted the kiss, using the hat to block the view of others of them. When they pulled away, they kissed his cheekbones before returning their headwear to the shelves. They exited the store without buying anything (it was all really expensive for stupid stuff) as Frisk finally took in the time. The sun was already set and the stars were out. It was still hot out, but not nearly as bad as it had been during the day.

"We've been here all day." Frisk pointed out. Sans hummed in agreement, marking down the sight of another shortcut.

"there're a lot of shortcuts in this place." He noted as Frisk led him along. There was some kind of event being staged. Frisk looked at the time on their phone. People were gathering on Main Street in preparation for something, so Frisk wanted to have a good view. Especially because the both of them were small. "a lot of ways to sneak in here."

"I wonder how many times we'll end up here?" Frisk asked.

"quite a bit." Sans pointed out a spot near the front of the crowd. They slipped through and immediately planted themselves there. Frisk sat behind Sans and cuddled up to him, burying their face in the fur of his coat hood. Sans was still distracted by his machine, but when Frisk kissed one of his vertebrae he squeezed their knee in appreciation. Frisk marveled as pictures and animations appeared on the castle. There were images of people who had their pictures taken throughout the day as well as just decorative animations. People around them talked animatedly. Frisk rested their chin on Sans's shoulder as he finally focused back on his surroundings. He rubbed at the joints on Frisk's hands.

"where should we go after this?" He asked after some silence. Frisk yawned widely.

"Sleep?" They suggested.

"you humans and your normal sleep schedules."

"Skeletons are weird." Frisk retorted.

"you must be tired. that was weak." Frisk bit Sans's neck and gasped, jumping, before swatting them. "don't."

"Rude." Frisk said.

Sans had been about to snark back again when the fireworks started. Both of them were distracted from the playful argument by the bursts of colors. Sans could see the magic of monsters also joining in on the show. People around them cheered. Sans tilted his head back so it was on Frisk's shoulder, staring up at the sky. Frisk kissed the side of his head.

"...good start." Sans decided quietly. Frisk hummed in question having not heard him. "s'nothing."


	5. Chapter 4

Frisk and Sans were stranded. The island they were on was small and barely populated by even some wildlife. Frisk hadn't gone to go look quite yet. Sans's GPS said they were in the Pacific somewhere near the equator, but Frisk hadn't understood the coordinates. The island itself had some fresh water and some trees, but for the most part was just sand and grass. The trees didn't provide a whole lot of shade from the beating of the sun. Good thing Frisk still had sunscreen and they still had food.

They had both been aware of the possibility that one of the shortcuts may lead over a body of water. It was natural, of course, because the Earth was covered in 70% water. They were usually a bit more careful to check the shortcuts before fully going through, but they hadn't this time. And they had plunged a good twenty feet straight into the middle of the ocean. Both had immediately scrambled before Sans had the idea that they use their magic to try to walk across the water. It was, at least, safer than swimming.

Frisk didn't have enough experience to keep adjusting their weight without exhausting themselves, so Sans took control over both of their souls. They both walked, hanging onto each other, unsteadily across the water as quickly as possible. The closest land was still a little bit away, so they hurried. The magic wouldn't last too long. And it didn't as Sans was forced to release it while they were still a good ways out.

"hate swimming..." Sans muttered. He seemed to be floating more than actually swimming. Frisk had never actually seen Sans swim. They were suddenly worried that he couldn't.

"Hang onto me?" They suggested, though the thought of swimming with thirty plus pounds of weight wasn't very appealing. But being out in open water was more unappealing. Frisk felt like there was a lot currently swimming under them.

"sorry kid." Sans told them as he grabbed their shoulders. Frisk at least managed to make him a bit lighter with their own magic before they began to awkwardly swim to the island.

Frisk was exhausted as they finally climbed onto land. They immediately collapsed onto the sand panting against the salt burning their throat. They had begun to panic a bit while swimming because of the uncertainty, but Sans had calmed them enough with jokes in order to get them both safely to shore. Sans collapsed next to Frisk and wiggled out of his shirt. He made a face at the salt water dripping from his bones.

"Better watch out...for salty dogs..." Frisk warned playfully, "they may want your...salty bones."

Sans snorted. "hilarious." He didn't seem to be in a great mood, but Frisk could see the joke lightened him up some. He glanced at Frisk and heard their wheezes. They coughed at the salt in their throat as they rolled onto their hands and knees to stand up. Sans was worried. He reached into his subspace and pulled out a bottle of water for the human, holding it out to them. Frisk took it thankfully and took a few gulps, but not nearly enough to satisfy Sans's worry.

"drink more." He commanded.

"Stranded." Frisk protested. Sans looked around at the land they were on and realized that they were indeed in the middle of nowhere. "Save water." Sans recalled that humans needed to drink water a lot more than skeletons needed to. He cursed mentally.

"get in the shade. i'll look around." Frisk shot him a look, clearly dubious of Sans doing anything. That should show them just how worried he was. He needed to see if he could find another shortcut. They nodded and the two of them trudged their way up to the few trees. Sans stripped of his jacket, shirt, and shorts. He had lost his slippers in the ocean. He wrung out the clothes of water. Frisk stripped down as well to do the same. They squeezed their hair to help get some of the water out.

"be right back." He promised before making his way across the sand into the grass. Sans looked around the island but didn't find much. There was, at least, the small fresh water pool. Sans walked back to Frisk and informed them of it. Together they walked over to it. Frisk tasted the water before they both went back to the shade.

Three days passed during which time they searched for shortcuts and built some kind of shelter. Sans worried. This place was fine to hang out at, but the ground wouldn't be comfortable for Frisk. His bones were already sore from it. He curled around the human and warily watched the dark clouds in the distance. Frisk tucked their face into the hollow of his neck and kissed his clavicle. He brushed his finger against their bare hip in response. They were covered with sweat and their skin was warm to the touch. It was turning pink in areas. Their sunscreen wouldn't last much longer.

"Sans." Frisk murmured drowsily, "Should find a shortcut."

"nothing nearby." He told them. The clouds were getting closer. Shit. Their makeshift shelter wouldn't survive a storm. And if they wanted to keep their stuff dry, they would need to put it back in the subspace. Didn't Frisk have a raincoat too?

"Sans." Frisk muttered again. Their voice sounded strange. He sat up to really look at them and felt his soul drop at the sight. They weren't just sweaty from the sun...they were sick. He had seen Frisk sick enough to recognize the signs. It was never good. Frisk just didn't know how to get casually sick. They always were either "not sick" or "really sick".

"shit." Sans gathered up their fresh water and reached into his pocket dimension in hopes that he had some kind of medicine in there. Nothing. He hadn't even considered bringing that. He had a medical kit, but not much else. He tucked a hand under Frisk's head and lifted it carefully, placing a water bottle to their lips. They drank in slow gulps. "stay awake, frisk." He told them. "can you walk?"

"Might vomit." Frisk admitted. Sans cringed at the thought. He picked Frisk up to carry them over to their shelter and onto the bed they had made out of clothes and a spare pillow. Frisk curled up on it shivering.

"try not to throw up on the bed." He needed to find a shortcut somewhere. He didn't have anything that he needed to take care of Frisk here. They would need proper human help. But he was reluctant to leave their side. He could stretch his magic a bit and travel further out into the ocean, but he wasn't sure if he would have the energy to bring Frisk with him even if he found something. And there was a storm brewing on the horizon that he could only hope wouldn't head in their direction. He didn't want to leave them alone.

Frisk passed out at some point. Sans continued to sit by their side refusing to leave. He kept an eye socket on the horizon, but luckily it seemed that the storm wasn't going to hit them. Small miracles. He ran his fingers through Frisk's hair and pulled out his cell phone. There wasn't much signal. Trying to call anyone resulted in the calls dropping before anyone could really be contacted. It seemed even Alphys's amazing phones had a limit. It didn't help that the phones had taken a nasty dip in the ocean.

Sans wiped off some of the sweat on Frisk's head with a wet rag. He wished that he could have cooler water, but he was limited. Maybe this road trip was a bad idea. Dunking into the ocean wasn't at the top of his list of worries. He had been more worried about careening off of a mountain or something. Tori had been right to voice her worries about randomly jumping through shortcuts. Sans usually took his time to explore, but the two of them had just been going at it. Maybe he should call this off. As soon as they go medical care for Frisk (and got off this damn island), he was going to take them both home. He could do the road trip alone another time.

That would be a bit lonely though. He rather liked traveling with Frisk. They didn't get a whole lot of alone time considering everyone knew who they were. Ebott, despite having grown quite a bit over the past couple of years, was still a small town. There wasn't much privacy. It didn't help that Sans and Frisk didn't have their own place. There was only so much that they could do in the presence of others without it getting back to Frisk's parents. Sans liked being out on the open road and having someone to talk to about it. Frisk, he knew, had also wanted to travel. This was a perfect romantic getaway.

But now here they were stuck on an island with Frisk sick with a fever. And who knew how bad it would get.

Sans brushed Frisk's fringe out of their face. "...sorry, kid. i'll get you home safe." He muttered.

Frisk stirred then, glancing at him with bleary eyes. "Don't wanna..." They murmured childishly. "Like this."

"you're sick." Sans pointed out realizing that Frisk may not even remember this conversation.

"Where to next?" Frisk asked instead, tilting their face into his palm. They kissed the metacarpals of his hand. Sans ran his thumb over their eyebrows.

He opened his mouth to tell them he had no idea where to next when he spotted a ship in the distance. He stood up quickly, causing Frisk to whine at the loss of his touch. They could get so needy for physical attention when sick. Sans needed to get the ship's attention. Luckily he had a couple flares stored away, courtesy of Asgore. Sans would have to thank him the next time they called him.

"i'll be right back." Sans promised Frisk. The human grabbed his hands, sitting up in confusion. "gonna go get help." He explained.

"Don't leave me." Frisk begged. Sans kissed them quickly.

"be right back, sweetheart." He promised again, releasing them to hurry to the shore. He reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out two of the flare guns. It was dark enough out with the setting sun, so he prayed that the ship would be able to see them. He shot one off directly above him and waited. And waited some more. As far as he could tell, the ship hadn't noticed. He was reluctant to leave Frisk alone for too long. He glanced behind him, but Frisk wasn't there.

The flare would last long enough. Sans headed back to Frisk. The human was on their feet and wavering slightly as they approached him, apparently intent on following him. Sans caught them, feeling a bit disgruntled at their stubbornness.

"i said i'd be right back." He scolded.

Frisk buried their face into his neck. Their breath felt distinctly hotter than usual. He could feel their overheated skin warming his bones. "Worried." They told him. Sans shivered a little. They didn't sound completely lucid.

"'m right here." He told them. Frisk leaned heavily on him as Sans led the way back to the beach. He lowered them both to the sand under the shade of a tree. Frisk curled against his chest. The ship was closer now. It seemed like it might be heading this way. He leaned his forehead against Frisk's head. It looked like they were going to be saved.

Frisk coughed. "Sans..." They called.

"hm?"

"Next time...let's be more careful."

"yeah. definitely."


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Part one of two of Sans and Frisk being on a surprise cruise. (You know, before the cops show up)**

 **Now that DotPP has completed, I can go back to updating this somewhat regularly! Of course if you've been spoiled by my long and complicated chapters from DotPP, please remember this series is a lot more easy going and fun. Which means mostly fluff, not much getting done, and shenanigans.**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

It was pure luck that they ended up on a cruise ship. With so many people in one place, Frisk was able to receive medical attention right away. Sans got a lot of questions asking about how they had arrived on an island, but Sans brushed them off and refused to answer. He stayed close to Frisk as the ship's doctor checked them and prescribed them some medication. The police were called. Sans and Frisk would need to leave the ship before they arrived, but there was still time. The boat was due to dock the next day.

They were given a room to stay in for the time being. Sans had to eventually make up a story about crashing there because of that storm he had seen earlier. Luckily they seemed to take it. They left him and Frisk alone in their bedroom then to rest. There were two beds, but Sans crawled into the one Frisk was occupying, laying down. He pressed his hand to their forehead as they breathed deeply and laboriously. He would need to wake them again soon to make sure they took their meds.

His head thunked back against the pillow. Frisk automatically sought his presence in the bed, pressing their nose to his bony arm. Probably not the most comfortable thing. Sans patted their salt-crusted hair and sighed slowly. At least they weren't trapped on an island anymore. There were still plenty of things to worry about, though. For one thing, he and Frisk needed new cell phones. He also needed to get his sick lover back to Ebott. The kid wouldn't be happy to know he was cancelling the trip.

"hey." Sans called quietly, rolling over onto his side. He could feel his face relaxing at the heated puff of air against his collarbones. They both needed a good shower. He pinched their nose and shook it a bit, causing Frisk's face to scrunch up and yank away. Their eyes blinked open blearily, their fever still very much present. It took them a moment to focus on him. "heya pal."

Frisk sat up slowly, body clearly protesting the effort, and looked around. ". . . Bed?" They murmured, confused.

"we got rescued. we're on a cruise ship." He couldn't help the amusement that slipped into his voice. "disney and now a cruise? this really is a vay-cay." Frisk smiled at that as they slowly recovered themselves a little bit. Sans rolled over and grabbed the medication from the table before he dumped out two pills to give to them. "take these for your sickness. be glad it ain't liquid."

Frisk made a face at the thought, but took the pills as well as a bottle of water to wash them down. They placed the bottle aside and stood before they stripped off their clothes, groaning a little at the slight burn to their skin. "I feel disgusting." They admitted.

"yeah." Sans agreed. "there's a shower through there. i was thinking we share." Frisk perked up a little at that and nodded. The two of them entered the bathroom and Frisk started the water. Sans stripped off his stiff clothes and tossed them onto the floor while Frisk climbed under the spray. He wondered if there was some kind of washing machine on board anywhere or if the clothes would just have to suffer until they got back to Ebott. Either way, he gathered up their clothes and tossed them into the subspace before he pulled out an outfit for each other them and placed them on the counter. He then joined Frisk in the shower.

They shivered against the heat of the water. Their fever was still pretty bad. Sans pinched them, causing them to yelp before he turned the temperature down until it was a little above lukewarm. "Sans!" They whined.

"can't have your fever goin' up more right now. this'll be fine." They wrapped their arms around themselves as Sans maneuvered around them in the slightly-small shower to grab the complimentary wash cloth. He didn't need much to keep clean, so the bar of soap was good enough to wipe down his bones.

Frisk watched him curiously. Their head was a little clearer now that the water soothed their skin, giving Frisk time to really pay attention. Their fingers carefully touched Sans's rib before they ran downwards. Sans looked at the human. Frisk smiled.

"This is weird." They decided.

"what is?" Sans asked as Frisk's fingers entered his ribcage. He jerked slightly, the feeling a little strange, but he didn't stop them.

Frisk stepped closer into his personal space and pressed a kiss to his mouth, their hands dropped to the crest of his hips. "This." They said. "Sometimes I forget . . . that you're just a skeleton under your clothes."

"you're tellin' me." Sans's hand followed the curve of Frisk's neck to their hair, pulling them into another kiss. He pressed another kiss to their cheek as well. "i forget that there's a skeleton under all that meat."

Frisk huffed a laugh, pulling him back into a proper kiss. The heat from their skin was still above normal and Sans knew it would be best if they showered and got out, but the relief of it all left him craving just a bit of comfort. It was only after a few precious moments did he finally step back, his body tingling from the strange sensation of fingers on him. Frisk had grown bolder in their curiosity, so Sans decided to shut that down.

"Wait." Frisk complained.

Sans grabbed the shampoo and passed it to them instead. "finish up, kid."

"I'd wanted to touch." They sulked a little as they proceeded to lather their hair with shampoo. Why did they have to become so childish when they were sick? He supposed it was better for them to be childish. It meant they weren't extremely sick anymore. Hopefully the medication was kicking in.

Sans's smile became a bit stiffer. "you know i'm not into that."

Frisk paused, blinking against the water running into their eyes. They could sense that they had done something wrong, but it took a moment for understanding to process. Their arms dropped. "I didn't mean . . . like that." They said and poked his sternum. "Just . . . skeleton. How does it feel if I touch the inside of your ribs . . .?" Their voice trailed off, a little embarrassed. Their intentions were misunderstood.

Sans relaxed. "my bad. i've been with enough people that have taken curiosity to a different level before." He finished wiping down his bones and handed the cloth over to Frisk as they completed washing their hair. "no harm done."

Frisk lathered up the cloth again. "Others?" They asked.

"didn't think you're my first, did you?" Sans climbed out of the shower, grabbing a towel.

"Yes." Frisk admitted with some hesitance. "When did you?"

"most were flings." Sans told them. "nothin' serious."

Frisk rinsed off and climbed out too. Sans handed them a towel as he dressed. "How many kids did you promise yourself to on Christmas?" They teased.

"one kid was enough." Sans exited the bathroom and flopped backwards onto the bed. Frisk hurried to crawl in after him, only half dressed. They buried their face into a pillow and peeked at him. They weren't properly dried again, so their clothes stuck to them in odd places. The pillow would most likely soak up more water than the towel had at this rate.

"So I'm the first serious one?" They asked quietly.

Sans grabbed the comforter to toss over them. The rocking of the ship was causing the kid to nod off again a little. Sans knew they would be asleep soon enough. If it wasn't the sickness, then the medicine would knock them out.

"yeah."

Frisk reached out and grabbed his hand loosely. Their cheeks were a little red, either from the heat or from being pleased Sans couldn't tell. "Are we gonna go back home?"

He was surprised they remembered that conversation. ". . . yeah." He told them.

"Then after, we'll keep going." Frisk decided.

"listen, frisk, this isn't−" Sans started, but Frisk cut him off,

"Visit mom and dad and then keep going." They buried their face completely in the pillow and refused to hear anymore. Sans ran a hand over his face. They really could be so childish.

"fine." He agreed. "just get to sleep."


	7. Chapter 6

The next day Frisk was feeling much better, although it was obvious that they weren't at full charge yet. There was a sleepiness that hung around the edges of their eyes and their temperature, though dropped, was still a little above normal. Sans thought that the human should rest a bit more, but Frisk rejected the idea. They were more concerned about taking advantage of being on a cruise ship before they were forced to leave. They had until roughly the evening when they would all touch down on the next island, and then the police would come.

"'s not like we're not used to the threat of police." Sans chuckled a bit as the two of them walked through the halls of the ship in an effort to find the entertainment. Frisk was a little curious to go swimming despite the fact that they had been trapped on an island. They admitted that they wanted to try the waterslide more than anything. Sans was more interested in finding some food that was actually cooked to eat. The little bit of soup he had shared with Frisk hadn't been enough.

Frisk's hand was a little abnormally warm in his as they tugged him over and out onto the deck. A nice breeze was blowing, although Sans couldn't help but wince ever so slightly at the bright sunlight. Even after all of these years it was still difficult to go into direct sunlight when his eyes were still better in the dark. It didn't help that he had been tired of the sun in general for a while. He wouldn't mind relaxing someplace soon. Whether or not he decided to continue the road trip, he wanted to rest a bit. But it wouldn't be at home, otherwise he might never leave.

Frisk noticed Sans's annoyed contemplation. They wondered what he was thinking about, but didn't ask him as they walked towards where they heard the shouts of delight and the splashing of water. They could see the colorful tubes from where they were. They pointed them out to Sans.

"if you wanna go swim, go ahead." Sans released their hand and glanced unhappily at the sun reflecting off of the ocean.

Frisk paused and turned around to grab his sleeve. They didn't understand why he was so upset. Was it still about having to end the road trip? Or was it something else. They waited for him to explain himself a bit, but he only stared at them until they released him. He tapped Frisk's arm with his fist once and nodded towards the pool.

"stay in the shade when you can. tori will kill me if you return home sicker than this."

"Sans." Frisk said.

Sans only waved and walked off away from the pool. Frisk dithered, not sure if they should follow after him. Did he just want some time away from them? They had been together this entire trip so far, and then of course they had been trapped on an island. Maybe Sans just needed some space. Still Frisk couldn't help but fear they had done something wrong. They fidgeted with their fingers, still hesitating where Sans had left them. Would he . . . come back? They weren't being left there, right?

Frisk clenched their jaw and then shook their head quickly. No, those were old fears. They were being silly, they knew. Sans probably just wanted to be alone for a little while. Frisk could give him that. They weren't a little seven year old again expecting to never see their loved one again. Frisk turned stiffly and forced their legs to leave the place Sans had left them. They tried to push aside the anxious feelings to go and enjoy themselves instead. It didn't work very well, but at least they were moving.

Sans went hunting for the cafeteria. It was late morning since the two of them had slept in, but there should always be food in the lunch room or whatever the ship had, right? He could stay in there for a short time and just relax while Frisk entertained themselves. Maybe he could chat with a few people and see what was up.

There were indeed a number of people in the communal food areas. The scent of fresh food filled him, reminding him that he was rather ravenous. He would eat first and then bring some for Frisk in a little bit. Or bring them to where he was. He remembered that he needed to get new phones for the both of them.

There was a buffet, so Sans just went over and piled some food on top of a plate before finding a random table to sit down at, well out of the sun and closer to the middle of the room. There was a fan above him that pushed around the air-conditioned air in the room. It was nice, he decided. He was glad to be alone without actually being alone.

He ate silently and just listened to all of the noise around him, but it wasn't long before he felt a tap on his arm. He glanced down to discover a young child ogling at him. It was a little boy with long-ish hair and just some bathing suit bottoms. Judging by the fact that he was still a little damp, he was probably eating a late meal after swimming all morning.

"Are you a skelly?" The child asked, eyes following the column of Sans's neck and staring at his bare arms.

"yep." Sans confirmed, amused. He took a bite of his eggs and watched the wide-eyed amazement of the child as he waited for the food to fall out. It never did. Sans remembered when Frisk had first done that to him.

"How do you eat?" The child asked, boldly touching Sans's arm and running his hand up it.

Sans allowed him to do so for a moment before he pulled his arm out of his grip. "good question. it's magic."

"What 'bout drinking?"

Sans leaned on his elbow and grinned at the child, nodding in a random direction. "i'll show ya. but i need milk."

"Milk?" The child asked, curious.

"yeah. don't you know that milk makes your bones strong?"

"Strong . . ." The child looked down, his eyes open with the epiphany he had just received. He looked back up at Sans. "Okay! Where?"

"doesn't matter from where." Sans pointed at a table where there was a glass of milk abandoned while its owner went to get some more food. "how 'bout that one?"

"Okay!" The unsuspecting child ran over to the table. Sans snorted and took another bite of his food. The kid hadn't even seen the drink Sans already had on the table. Maybe it was a bit mean to get the child into petty theft, but it was pretty funny too. The child dashed back over with the drink and held it out for Sans.

"thanks kid."

"Jamey!" The kid looked up at what appeared to be his parents approaching them carrying a tray of food. The father crossed his arms. "Why did you run off?"

"Look dad! Skelly! He's gonna show me how he drinks!" Jamey hopped up and down excitedly and pointed at Sans. The parents did a quick double-take at the sight of the skeleton, but they didn't react badly. Sans knew it was probably still shocking for older humans to see monsters even over these last few years.

"We're sorry for our son bothering you." The mother quickly apologized as she took Jamey's hand.

"s'no worries." Sans shrugged. "hey kiddo." He held the glass up to his mouth and took a large gulp. The milk fell right past his jaw and into his lap. Jamey burst into squeals of laughter at the sight. "whoops. looks like it just goes right through me."

"Again!" Jamey cried, pointing at the glass in Sans's hand, but his parents shushed him.

"Thank the nice skeleton for playing with you, Jamey." His father told his son while shooting Sans an amused look. Sans had to admit that it was nice to have humans willing to play along once in a while. Even if now he needed to go change his clothes.

"Thank you!" Jamey continued to giggle when he looked at the mess on Sans's clothing.

"Thank you for that." His mother added softly.

"what can i say? I was _milking_ the attention for all it was worth." He winked.

The father snorted horribly at the pun, which sent the entire family into giggles. "Mind if we sit with you?" The man asked. Sans motioned to his table.

"feel free." The family talked freely with him for the next while. Sans gladly entertained the lot of them as he explained how he was on vacation with Frisk, who had become ill while they were on the ocean.

"Oh god, seasickness?" Alana, the mother, asked.

"something like that." Sans agreed. "mostly fever. they're doin' better though." Although word seemed to have gotten around quickly that there were two rescued people on the ship, it seemed that not everyone knew who they were. Which was relieving even if Sans thought it was funny. He would've thought more people would be curious about the event. He supposed that the crew had kept their location a little private.

About half an hour later Sans decided it would be best to go find Frisk and bring them some real food. He separated with a cheerful goodbye from the family. He felt distinctly cheered up now as he finished what food he had gotten, and then went back to the buffet table to grab a plate and something to drink for Frisk. He went back to the pool and searched around for his human, only to find them sitting under the shade of an umbrella watching the other humans and monsters playing in the pool. They were wearing their sunglasses and a hat now to help block out the sun. They hadn't succeeded in fully blending the sunscreen into their skin. Sans sensed something was wrong.

"hey kiddo." He placed the food and drink down on the small table next to Frisk before taking a seat on the edge of their pool lounge. Frisk continued to hug their knees, but gave Sans a weak smile. "feelin' sicker?"

Frisk shook their head and returned to gazing at the pool. They didn't look like they had swam at all. Sans looked them over to try to decipher what was wrong. He nudged them and held out a grape from the food he had gathered. Frisk didn't look like they wanted to eat it, but in the end leaned forward and ate it from his fingers. He caught their nose playfully before they could fully pull back.

"what's up?" He asked.

Frisk opened their mouth, but then closed it and shook their head. Sans couldn't read their expression well with those large glasses on. They ducked their head. "s'stupid." They muttered.

"y'know i don't mind stupid."

"I thought . . ." Frisk murmured almost too quietly over the noise of the outside and the people, "that you were . . . mad at me."

"for?"

Frisk shrugged. Sans grabbed another grape and tapped their head until they looked up and ate the fruit. Sans pressed his hand to their head. There was sweat on their skin, but it didn't seem to be feverish. Still, though, he wanted to get them back inside.

"nah, not mad." Sans assured them, swiping thumb across their cheek. Frisk closed their eyes at the feeling, and their mouth betrayed just how scared they'd really been. Sans thought back to how he could've appeared to the human. This was probably an old trauma thing, he figured. He had thought that most of Frisk's abandonment issues were gone, but he supposed that those type of things never go away. They seemed to appear at random. Sans had a feeling the kid would have a nightmare tonight.

He lifted their glasses and kissed them soundly. He didn't stop until Frisk's body relaxed and began to uncurl their legs and wrap their arms around his neck. Only then did he pull back. They still looked a little downtrodden, but it was an improvement.

"you done swimmin'?" He asked quietly.

Frisk shook their head a little, and then nodded.

"we'll come back later. you need to eat."

"bedroom?" Frisk asked, glancing up at him shyly through their lashes.

Sans grinned. "you want to jump my bones that badly?"

Frisk smiled too and laughed lightly. Sans felt some part of him relax at their smile. "maybe." They joked. Judging by the clinginess, Sans had a feeling he would have a second body attached to him for a while when they got back to the room.

"let's get back and eat. then we'll check out what else the ship has before we leave. alright?"

Frisk nodded, breath ghosting his cheekbone. They glanced at his mouth again before they kissed him a second time. Sans pulled away to kiss their neck before he tugged them up and grabbed the tray of food and drink. "c'mon, buddy. enough pda." He led them back towards the room.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hints of friskiness, but nothing explicit.**

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It wasn't completely unexpected, but the road trip wasn't cancelled. When the ship docked at the next island, Frisk and Sans were quick to find the nearest shortcut and travel through it. The unfortunate realization that Sans didn't think of was the fact that he still did not have many of the shortcuts marked down, so they had no idea what path to take to get back to Ebott. That is, unless, they were willing to do it the old-fashioned way. Which they weren't. They didn't have the kind of money for that. In fact, they were rather out of money after only three days from being on the cruise ship. Much of their money had been spent on new cellphones and restocking food, medicine, and water, as well as the motel room they were currently staying in.

It wasn't bad for a motel, but neither of them had exactly sprung for anything high-end. Frisk insisted on one day paying to stay in a very nice hotel with all kinds of goodies associated with it, but this day was not that day. They instead quietly counted what little change they had left over between them, and still came up far too short to even buy a candy bar.

"well." Sans rubbed at his skull. "this ain't good."

"At least we have food and water." Frisk suggested. Outside was cool even though it was summer. There wasn't much in terms of sights where they were at, but they didn't have too much of a choice in terms of travelling considering the lack of money. Frisk was very much interested in seeing some of the natural beauty of Alaska, but Sans wasn't quite as interested. He was more concerned about staying out of nature for a little while. Maybe spend a couple of days indoors doing nothing. Which wasn't a great plan considering they couldn't afford a hotel room for longer than a day.

"getting back to ebott's a bust right now." Sans slumped back onto the bed while Frisk gathered their loose change to put away. "but staying here ain't an option either. we're gonna have to do some con work."

"I don't know how." Frisk said, curling up on the bed next to him. Their hand automatically reached out to wrap around his waist, tucking their face into the side of his magical fat. The scent of his bones caused them to sigh, pleased.

Sans flicked the top of their head playfully as he reached into his portable subspace for his tablet, turning it on. Frisk made an annoyed noise at the flick and poked his side hard. Sans tugged at their hair as he scrolled through his tablet. He was still trying to possibly predict where certain shortcuts would end up and try to tell if there was some kind of pattern. Harassing Frisk while he looked was second nature.

"it's not difficult. got plenty of food we could sell off. i know where i could possibly get us a stash of 'dogs."

"You mean water sausages." Frisk grabbed his hand to pull it from their hair. Sans didn't release their hair, though, so they tugged on his fingers. In response, the fingers popped off. Frisk still startled a little when they did that. The finger wiggled at them.

"where'd you learn that dirty slander?" Sans asked. He hadn't even looked at them. Frisk lifted up their shirt a little and placed his finger on the skin of their stomach. The bone was a little sharp, so it would be good to scratch with. Sans's finger complied, scratching their skin. Frisk watched it idly, feeling warm.

"I knew that from back when I was twelve." The temptation to dip the finger lower to see how it would feel wiggling in _other_ places was there, but they left the idea to their imagination. Sometimes Frisk couldn't help but be disappointed that Sans wasn't a little more interested in sexual things. They were becoming distracted. Should probably return the finger soon.

"again, where'd you learn that? you could destroy my business that way." Frisk shifted the finger higher so he was scratching at their sternum. Frisk considered egging him on for a back scratch session. They nuzzled their face into his side. They wanted to slide their hand up his shirt. He wouldn't mind if they did, they knew, but they were well aware that such intentions might cross a line with him. They were still kind of on edge after the rejection on the cruise ship. It stilled their hand.

"Mom had a book about plants." They returned the finger to its proper place. Sans's fingers found their way back into Frisk's hair, but now they were playing with the hair rather than pulling. Frisk's eyelids fell to half-mast, their mouth watering. They swallowed.

"sold out before i could even trick you." Sans placed aside the tablet and gazed down at the human. Their movements had become slow, their hand idly stroking across his chest with long and broad touches. He recognized those signs. He glanced up at the ceiling contemplatively.

Frisk's hand clenched into his shirt as they tilted their head up for a kiss. Sans granted them one, their conversation petering out. Frisk's tongue swiped across his mouth to kiss his cheek, and then stopped. He could feel the tension in their body as they ached to pull him closer and at the same time give him his space. Sans never said anything in response to them when they got like this because he would rather them work their urges out on their own. Perhaps it wasn't right of him, but it always felt like a test to see how far they would push him. His previous lovers had always pushed too far, and that was when things spiraled down. Some part of Sans expected Frisk to do it too. He expected them to break his trust in this scenario, just like they had in many others. He hated himself for that.

Frisk did pull him close, but only to kiss and mouth at his neck. Sans tilted his head away, closing his eyes. Their kisses were hot but gentle as they moved down to his collarbones, and then back up his neck again. He sighed gently. Frisk's arms tightened around his chest for one long moment before they pulled back completely from him. Sans watched them as their eyes bore into his sockets. Their pupils were blown wide. He could feel their reluctance to pull away.

He brushed his hand across their cheek before he cupped it. Frisk sighed, tilting their face into his palm, before they released him and rolled away from him onto their back. Sans scooted over a little farther on the bed as Frisk reached into their subspace for what they needed. Sans considered watching, but then decided he would be more productive if he did some more research. Maybe a major city would be the best place to go.

Frisk was already shimmying out of their pants and underwear. "Sorry." They murmured.

"no worries." Sans responded. "take your time."

"I don't think it will take that long." Frisk admitted. It had been a little while. They felt only a little bad about Sans having to share the bed with them, but he could always move if it actually bothered him. They wondered if maybe they could have him pet their hair or give them a kiss or two during it. They supposed it depended on his level of repulsion for the day.

"alright. afterwards we really should focus on where to get money. burning daylight."

Frisk scoffed playfully as they popped open the cap of the bottle in their hands. "Sun doesn't set here."

"oh right." Sans glanced outside briefly. It was getting late, but the sun was still hovering on the horizon. He returned to his tablet. Frisk figured the conversation was over, which they decided was for the best.

* * *

 **A/N: Sans may be asexual, but Frisk still isn't.**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: There may be some disturbing thoughts and themes in here. Be warned of that. Such themes include attempts at self-harm and maybe some graphic detail from memories or thoughts. Bad Days are not fun. Please proceed with caution.**

 **(Also sorry, this is supposed to be an all fluffy story but I have no control)**

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There was no space in time between the bone puncturing their chest and Frisk jolting awake. They were immediately disoriented, adrenaline pumping through their body keeping them on edge. They waited only briefly for the pain, but it never came. Or they just didn't feel it yet. They didn't want to look at their chest. Their body was tense and ready to move, but Frisk had experienced this situation numerous enough times over the years that they didn't immediately fling themselves to the side like instincts told them to do.

Roll away from the attack.

Get to your feet.

Run.

FIGHT.

Dodge.

Frisk held still, fists trembling as they gripped the bedsheets between whitened fists. They didn't have a weapon with them. That was fine. They didn't need a weapon. Weapons were bad. Useful, but bad. Frisk would rather not Fight if they could help it.

The image of the ceiling above them was swimming. The edges of their vision were blurred, but they didn't know if it was from sleep or because they were dying. It was hard to tell. Both were familiar to them at this point. Their hands clenched and unclenched in the sheets beneath them. Frisk told themselves to think about where they were. That was always the best course of action. Get their thoughts straight even as every thought in their mind ran around like ants when their anthill was crushed.

There was someone next to them. _Sans_ , their mind immediately supplied, not needing any form of prompting to know that only Sans would be sleeping next to them right now. On most occasions that would've calmed Frisk down after such a bad nightmare. But not today. Today the very thought sent their pulse spiking again, all semblance of calm leaving them.

It was like a scene from a horror movie as their head slowly turned to look at him. They expected to see black hollow sockets . . . maybe blue fire burning within one. The flashing of furious magic right before Sans grinned and said "geeeeeeeet dunked on!" and the bones would once against rip through their body. The ghostly flavor of copper lingered on their tongue and in their nose.

But no, his eyes were closed. They could escape. This was their chance. They just needed to get out of the bed. They just needed to get away from Sans. Where was the door? Was there a door? A window? Frisk needed to leave. They needed to first get out of the bed. Sans was probably just napping. They could kill him. They could finish the battle. Where was their knife?

No.

Nononono that wasn't _Frisk_. Those were memories of thoughts.

That wasn't them.

Move. Get out of there.

Frisk slowly felt their way to the edge of the bed. It was a queen-sized bed. The room they were in was unfamiliar. They needed to get outside. Get away. Get away. Get _away_!

They fell out of the bed and landed a little hard on their hands and knees. They froze, waiting to hear if the noise had woken Sans up from his slumber, but the carpet had muffled most of the sound. Frisk realized they were completely nude. Confusion pressed itself against the barely-controlled panic of Frisk's mind. Sex? Did they have sex?

No, that wasn't something Sans did.

Frisk felt like they were going to vomit at the very thought of his name as fear spiked once again. They were scared to touch their chest. Would they find a gaping hole there?

No, they were fine. They weren't injured. The slight sting in their hands was more realistic than the incorporeal feeling of their chest ripping open.

Frisk reluctantly peeked back over the edge of the bed. Sans hadn't moved. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but Frisk was vaguely aware of a memory telling them that he was still dress under the blanket. The normalcy of the thought was disturbing them, but they latched onto it. Those were the thoughts that they _should_ be having, they realized, but their memories kept yanking them back further.

This was going to be a Bad Day, they were quickly understanding.

Frisk stayed on their hands and knees as they groped for some clothing. They were aware that they could use magic, but they couldn't remember how to do it. They couldn't do magic in the Underground, right? They couldn't do magic at all.

But they could do magic. They were taught it before Gaster attacked them again.

Gaster.

Gaster. Static buzzed in their head. Pain lanced up their arm from where the scar of their past still sat. Their skin itched. Frisk wanted to claw at the scar. They wanted to rip the static out. It was right there beneath their skin, like ants scrambling to escape. Frisk could almost imagine the static eating at their muscles and bones, erasing them from the inside out. They had to get it out before it was too late.

Their nails were digging into the scar, tearing at the half-formed skin there. Blood welled up from each indent, running down over the side of their arm. Not deep enough. The static wasn't coming out yet. It was more frantic now. It was ringing in their ears. Deeper. They needed to get deeper. They began to pull their hand back, dragging the nails through their skin.

"kid, stop!" Frisk startled violently as a hand caught theirs. Their sight of bones immediately made a scream rise to their throat, but a hand covered their mouth before they could let out the yell. Panic made them thrash against Sans, desperate to escape him.

"shhh! frisk, frisk, no, kid it's alright!" Sans tried to soothe, but Frisk thrashed their head and scrambled to get away. Sans released them. They crawled over to the far side of the room and stared at him, fighting against sobs of terror. Sans stayed where he was, the lights of his eyes meme pinpricks as he took in the terrified form of his lover. He could tell that their mind wasn't in a good place right then. He could relate. It was rare for him to see this from the outside, though. He'd never experienced the brunt of one of Frisk's Bad Days. Only Toriel had really experienced it. Sans had always stayed away just in case.

He made sure to keep his distance, but he wanted to keep Frisk's attention on him. Their fingers had returned to digging into their scar. Sans didn't need to be the genius he was to know what they were probably thinking. He understood that the mind could convince itself of crazy things when it was in the state Frisk was in. Sans had hoped that this sort of scenario wouldn't happen while they were on the trip, though. He supposed that was too much to ask.

"hey." He called softly, keeping his hands where he knew Frisk could see them. Sans prayed to whatever kind of thing was out there that Frisk wouldn't attack him. He needed to stay far away from them even though a part of him knew that Frisk would need physical comfort. They always did whenever they had a nightmare. He wished Papyrus was there to help. Or Toriel. Or Asgore. Just . . . anybody but him. Someone who could help Frisk.

"frisk . . . can you hear me, buddy?" Frisk's nails dug deeper into their arm. Sans cringed a little at the blood dripping onto the carpet. The skin there had always been thin ever since the attack. Frisk could do some major damage if Sans wasn't careful. He tried to remember the methods that Papyrus used whenever Sans had a panic attack or acted like this. "you're alright. do you know where we are? or . . . or, uh, who you are?"

Frisk didn't respond. Their body was shaking like it was cold. They looked unbelievably vulnerable curled up in the corner naked with their wide eyes watching him for any sudden movements. He wondered what was going on in their heads. He didn't know how to break through that haze. He wasn't exactly sure of the process by which they would need to recover.

"we're in a hotel room, frisk. we're on vacation, remember? the road trip? see, there's the leftovers from yesterday on the table." He very carefully nodded towards the table. Frisk's eyes barely flicked over to it before they were back on him again. He supposed that was a good sign. It meant that they were listening. "remember yesterday? we put on a show to get money? got some good food out of it?" It may have been his imagination, but maybe Frisk had relaxed ever so slightly.

Sans was talking slowly, like he was trying to calm an animal down. Frisk couldn't understand. Shouldn't he be angry at them? He had hurt them. He had grabbed their arm, and now their arm was bleeding. Even now more pain was ringing from their arm. The static was calling to them, but Sans was the one who would attack next, right?

But Sans didn't attack them. He had tried to help them when Gaster had attacked. Sans had disliked Gaster too. Gaster had hurt both of them. Gaster had hurt all of them. What was Sans talking about? What was a hotel? Like Mettaton's? Were they in Mettaton's hotel? But Mettaton's hotel didn't have windows. Maybe the curtains were decorative.

Dinner? Money? Frisk didn't understand. Sans kept pointing out things in the room, like Frisk's clothes on the floor. He mentioned something embarrassing about them pleasuring themselves last night. Frisk vaguely remembered something like that. No? Yes? The other night? Last night? The timeline was blurring in their head.

They were scared. They were back in the Underground having fallen again. They were unstuck from the timeline. They wanted their mom. They wanted help. They wanted Sans, but they were terrified of Sans. They wanted the noise to stop. It was too much.

"Sans." They whimpered, grabbing at their ears. The urge to rip them off was there. The pain would ground them, but they hated pain.

"frisk." Sans's voice was closer. They startled and lifted their head suddenly to see him much closer to them. His hand had reached out as if to touch them, but he flinched back at their sudden movement. Was he scared of them? Had they attacked him? Was Sans okay? Was he having a Bad Day?

No, no, _Frisk_ was the one having a Bad Day. They were freaking out. They needed to calm down, but their body wasn't responding properly. Understanding began to dawn on them like a light breaking through the dense fog of their panic. All of these thoughts threatened to overwhelm them again. They weren't so sure that they wouldn't. It had happened before in the past. Frisk only really had a short period of time, they were sure, before they were pulled under again. It was a momentary reprieve.

"Sans." They whispered again, only slightly steadier this time. Sans relaxed a tiny bit, but didn't try to touch them. They wanted to hug him and bury their face into his stomach, but they were scared he would kill them if they did. So they stayed where they were.

"there you are, frisk." He murmured back, his tone gentle even as it was heavy with worry. Frisk had heard that tone used many times by their mom and dad in the past. "focus on me for a second, okay? can you let go of your arm?"

Frisk blinked. Had they been holding their arm? They glanced down at the bloody mess of their arm and felt their stomach churn violently at the sight. Their fingers stiffly unclenched from their skin, sending more pain to their brain. They had been hurting themselves. They could barely register it even as they stared at the mess in front of them.

"can i touch you?" Sans asked carefully. "clean you up?"

Frisk opened their mouth and felt their jaw trembling. They weren't sure if they were crying or if they were about to cry. Their vision was watery as they faced Sans again. He was waiting for their response. Somehow he had bandages and water in his hands. Frisk didn't see where he had gotten them.

"You won't . . . k-kill me?" They asked, quite bravely they thought.

"i won't." Sans promised. "i'm just gonna clean and bandage your arm. then i'll give you space, alright?" A part of Frisk rebelled at Sans leaving them while the other half of them thought that was a good idea. Another smaller part cringed at him touching them whatsoever. They nodded slowly in agreement.

Sans moved quickly but carefully to clean up the blood on Frisk's arm and bandage them. Frisk wasn't sure whether to watch Sans or his hands as he touched them, but soon enough the bandage was in place. The movements had calmed Frisk down a bit. Sans placed what was left of the water beside Frisk and backed away on his hands and knees until he was a good bit away. Frisk felt a little more anxious that he was away, but also significantly better at the amount of space they now had.

"need anything?" He asked. "food? clothes? uh . . . mr. harrington?" He suggested it almost like a joke, but Frisk nodded. "right." Sans glanced around before he carefully stood up. Frisk watched him, but at least they didn't flinch. He moved towards one of the doors in the room and left Frisk alone. Frisk wondered what that door was before their mind reminded them that it was the bathroom. Sans came back carrying Mr. Harrington. Had the skeleton been using the bathroom? Silly skeletons don't use bathrooms, though.

Sans placed Mr. Harrington down and turned the skeleton on. It danced merrily with familiar moves. Frisk gladly allowed themselves to focus on it. Sans moved onto the bed and laid down. He had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to do much today now after such an exhausting morning. Frisk, when they had fully calmed down, would probably pass out again. Sans would make sure to provide clothes for them and keep his distance. He would turn the television on later and watch some crap TV show later when the human had calmed a little more.

For now he would lay in bed and keep an eye on Frisk. Their fingers were still idly rubbing their bandage wrap, but they weren't trying to hurt themselves anymore. He was still shaking a little from waking up to the sight of it. He had a feeling that the image of Frisk hunched over and trying to tear into their own skin would be in his head for a while. He would probably call Toriel later to ask her for advice. Maybe a familiar voice would help Frisk some.

Sans wiped his face with his hand and decided to wait out the rest of the day until Frisk was ready.

* * *

 **A/N: At this point one has to wonder if Frisk has worse Bad Days or if Sans does.**

 **"Wolfie, I thought this was supposed to be fluff!"**

 **"whoops"**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this. If you follow me at all anywhere then you've noticed that I definitely haven't been dead, lol, just doing a whole bunch of other stuff. My muse is all over the place right now. I have so many ideas.**

 **That being said, my updating schedule will continue to be wonky. I've gotten some rather unfortunate news, so I'll be on a semi-hiatus. Which means my updating schedule is fucked, however I will try to update whenever possible. I'm writing all day today, so I'm hoping to update Fallen Children as well. I've also posted a new story today. So I'm on a roll!**

 **I will still be alive and taking questions and stuff on my ask blog. Please feel free to send some! Also come chat with me on my tumblr if you wish!**

 **That being said, thank you for my beta joviamod's work!**

 **Please leave a review if you enjoyed!**

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Frisk was being quiet. This wasn't unusual because Frisk was often a quiet child who prefered to get their point across through sign language and facial expressions, but this silence was different. Usually Frisk held a type of atmosphere around themselves most of the time. This atmosphere tended to be relaxed most days. Today, however, the atmosphere felt tense and withdrawn. It called for Sans to try to soothe the human, but he knew he couldn't. Not at the time. Only time would return Frisk to their normal self.

Frisk had a Bad Day yesterday. Their arm was still bandaged from them hurting themselves, but Sans knew that would heal soon. He was more concerned with their state of mind at the moment. Frisk wouldn't talk to him and had retreated into themselves. He saw them reacting to Mr. Harrington -almost like the two of them were having a conversation without words- but other than that they held a dulled look to their normally bright eyes as they stared off at nothing. The sounds of the TV at least helped with the stifling silence. Frisk often glanced at Sans warily, their facial expressions showing an innocent fear he hadn't seen since they had first met, but they never approached him. Sans knew better than to get close to them.

He wanted to help them in some way. He hated seeing Frisk upset. Their fear of him was a physical presence that seemed to compress his ribcage and leave him struggling. Every shift he made on the bed caused them to flinch a bit. Sans felt sick at the sight, reminding him of when he had attacked them in his anger over Gaster. He knew he was helping them most by staying away, but he felt more the coward for it. He knew that he wasn't only staying away to help them. Just the sight of them curled up in the corner staring at him with wide eyes was causing him to remember his own trauma. He had to force himself to focus more on whatever was on the TV for both of their sanities.

Sans had called up Tori midway through the day and had explained the situation to her. Toriel had been distraught knowing Frisk was doing badly, but there was nothing either of them could do. Sans couldn't risk moving Frisk until they was ready to go. Toriel had instead given him some advice on how to coax Frisk to eat. Sans hadn't bothered to attempt it. Toriel's sins against Frisk were minimal compared to Sans's. The only time Tori had killed Frisk had been by accident, after all.

So Sans waited it out. The few times Frisk got up was to hesitantly creep around the bed to go to the bathroom. Sans always made sure to leave some water and food near their corner for whenever they came back. Mr. Harrington, it seemed, had been placed in charge of watching Sans whenever the human had been away.

Sans knew that Frisk was aware of their actions. He could see it in the moments of clarity when Frisk wasn't lost adrift on the waves of their suffocating emotions. Sans understood the feeling of disconnect between what he logically knew he should be doing and the emotional turmoil that was the volatile cocktail of his depression and PTSD on his Bad Days. It was hard to control. Sans didn't think that Frisk had it as bad emotionally as he did sometimes, but their memory was much longer than his. They were probably more lost in their thoughts than their emotions. Sans could only guess. The human wouldn't talk to him.

Eventually the evening bloomed again and Sans knew they needed a plan for the next day. They had money to stay another night, but Sans couldn't stomach the thought of staying in that room for another day. However recovery after such a traumatic event could be . . . tenuous. He didn't want to accidentally make things worse by pushing Frisk to go sooner. He needed to discuss it with them. He waited until one of their closer moments of clarity to call their name. He made sure to stay far away from them.

It took a couple tries, but Frisk eventually looked up from their conversation with Mr. Harrington. They startled a little at the sight of Sans before they realized that they weren't anywhere dangerous. Was this Sans's bedroom? For a moment they couldn't figure out which bedroom they were even picturing. Sans seemed to be the only steady thing in a shifting world. Frisk gripped what they could of the rug to keep from being thrown from the timeline. Wait, why had they looked up? They glanced at Mr. Harrington with some distress. The skeleton (dressed in summer clothing, the silly guy! Where was his suit?) informed Frisk that Sans was trying to talk to them. Oh.

Frisk looked back again at Sans. The room no longer spun. Frisk blinked hard to break the surface of their confused thoughts. Why did their arm sting?

"hey." Sans called again. His voice was surprisingly gentle. He only used that whenever Frisk needed comfort. Frisk wanted to hear his voice vibrating against his ribcage as they pressed their ear to it. Why was he over there? "kiddo, can you hear me?"

They were becoming distracted again. Mom would be upset. They nodded to him.

"that's good. how are you feeling?"

That was an odd question. Had something happened to them? Various possibilities ran through their head before suddenly jolting to a stop as their arm throbbed again. They remembered now. They weren't having a good day. The fact that their mind was all over the place was proof of that. This was the mild part of their Bad Days, Frisk knew. They wondered if they would be plunged back into their fear. If they stayed awake, it was better. Tears still gathered a bit in their eyes, though. They hated feeling like this. What if they lost control again? Was this really going to be a permanent thing with them?

"I don't know." They confessed to him. They gazed down at their knees as they drew their legs into their chest. At least they were clothed now. "My mind is . . . scrambled again."

"is that normal?" Sans asked.

"Sometimes." Frisk swallowed thickly. They could hear jazz mixed among the static in their head. They wanted to listen to other music, but their mom always insisted on jazz. They flinched violently when Sans touched their arm, and Sans held his hands up, backing away from them again. They didn't miss the pained look that crossed his eyes. It was probably because he needed to tell Papyrus about Gaster, didn't he? No, wait, that already happened. And Papyrus was dead. Wasn't he? No . . .

"frisk, just answer me this. do you want to go home?"

Home? "My parents don't want me." Frisk told him. Why was he so close? They felt like they were going to suffocate. They pressed themselves further into the corner. Sans gave them more space. Frisk could breathe again.

"no, not them. to tori and asgore."

Right. Frisk lived with Toriel and Asgore now. They hadn't seen or heard from their human parents in years. "No." Frisk found themselves saying before everything had fully processed. Why were they saying no? It would be good to see their parents. Toriel would protect them. Toriel didn't like to hurt Frisk. It was okay. They would be okay with her. Not like Sans. Sans wanted to kill them.

But no, he was their friend. What timeline was it? Had they killed anyone? They remembered going on dates with Sans. They had been sleeping with him earlier. They had slept with him a bunch of times!

"Jacket." Frisk begged. Sans pulled it out from his subspace and passed it to them. Frisk flinched at the movement, and then berated themselves as they took the jacket with shaking hands. The bandage on their arm was disturbing them. Their skin was crawling. Was that static?

They pulled the jacket on quickly, and the sight of the bandage disappeared. Some part of Frisk relaxed as they buried their nose into the familiar fluff of Sans's jacket. It smelled like home. One of Frisk's homes. Frisk could cry. They felt a bit steadier.

"kid, we need to leave the room. can you walk?" Sans asked once they had calmed down more.

"Yes." Frisk's body felt stiff and exhausted as they climbed to their feet. They grabbed Mr. Harrington desperately and held him close as they faced Sans. Why were they taller than him now? Weren't they supposed to be the same size? Wait, Frisk was eighteen now. They weren't a kid anymore. Right. Right.

Sans watched them, his eye sockets sympathetic but wary, before he nodded and led the way from the room. His moped was sitting in the parking lot. It was cold outside despite it being summer. Frisk shivered some. The cold helped to clear their wool-filled mind. Sans climbed onto the moped and pulled on his helmet. Frisk followed suit automatically.

"Where are we . . . going?" They asked.

"i have an idea. can you hang onto me?"

"Yeah." Frisk hesitated before wrapping their arms around Sans's waist. His pudge was familiar to them. The feeling of his spine pressing against the jacket was not new to them. They clung to these facts as Sans drove off. He must have already checked out and Frisk hadn't realized.

It was a struggle, Sans could tell, for Frisk to keep their mind steady. It worried him. He wasn't sure this was only a component of being triggered by their nightmares. Ever since being attacked by Gaster, their mind could never seem to stay on the same timeline forever. It had messed them up. As they got older, Sans was noticing it was becoming steadily worse. He hoped he was imagining it. He considered getting them another piece of jewelry made of anti-time material. They may need it.

At least they seemed to be mostly recovered from the bad part of their Bad Day. Now it looked like they were just making an effort to reassert themselves in this timeline. They kept asking him questions while he drove, some of which had nothing to do with their situation at the moment. They sometimes wondered why Ebott looked like the place they were in, even though Ebott looked nothing like the chilly landscape.

As it became darker outside and colder, Frisk seemed to become steadier. They had to stop for the human to eat and use the restroom and to change into warmer clothing a couple of times. Sans only briefly got some fuel for his bike as well. They kept asking him where they were going, but eventually they stopped.

Frisk huddled in on themselves. "Are we . . . camping?" They asked as Sans laid out a blanket. He plopped down on it and patted the spot next to him. Frisk joined him and curled up against his body, even though they would get no warmth from him. They summoned a couple fireballs to warm themselves up.

"nah. been wantin' to show you this. figured now would be a good time, although we had to take the long way."

"You mean the normal way." Frisk teased as a fireball brushed their nose. Sans squished the warm fire to their face until it burst, making the human grin. Sans's soul felt a little lighter at the thought. With the flames dancing around them, Sans could see the darkness under and within his human's eyes still. He tapped his skull to theirs.

"look up." He told them, and Frisk did. Their mouth fell open at the beautiful sight of the aurora borealis. Sans felt himself thrill as their hand found his to squeeze. It was more lovely than he had thought it would be. The colors danced across the sky. It was better than seeing them from space on a screen.

"Wow. I never thought . . ."

"it's the magnetosphere." Sans told them, the information from his studies eager to be told. "when charged particles from the sun hit it, these colors form."

Frisk leaned their head on his shoulder, watching the movement of the bands of light as Sans continued to tell them all he knew about the phenomenon. His voice was a balm for their exhausting day. They wanted to sleep, but didn't want to miss the sight.

"when we get the chance, let's see the ones in the southern hemisphere as well."

"There are some there too?" They asked with a yawn.

"yeah." He looked at them, seeing their eyes drooping. "c'mon. there's a shortcut nearby we can take. you need to sleep somewhere warmer."

"In a few more minutes." Frisk denied, smiling at him before looking back at the sky. "I want to stay like this for a bit longer." They turned their head a bit more against his cheekbone. Sans joined them in watching the sky.

"sure." He told them. "few more minutes."


	11. Chapter 10

It was still very early. Frisk yawned just a bit as they sat on the edge of the mountain waiting with Sans. The skeleton himself was relaxing back against the rock, his bare feet kicking idly. There was a lake down in the basin of the mountains that appeared dark in the very early light. The sun hadn't risen yet, but the horizon was starting to lighten. Fog rolled in the nearby distance, making the hairs on Frisk's body stand in the chill. Switzerland, Frisk decided, was beautiful. They couldn't wait for the sunrise.

Everything was black and white with the exception of the red Soul floating just outside of Frisk's chest. It was second nature now for Frisk to move the Soul without a care. They could easily focus between their actual body and their Soul's vision. The Soul floated around to the back of Frisk and closer to Sans. It hesitated before it touched his clothing. If Frisk focused, they could see Sans's white soul hidden within his body. His clothing and physical form did nothing to hide its glow. They wondered if monster souls could be summoned out of their bodies like humans' could. They doubted it.

Sans peeked an eye socket open to watch the hovering Soul. Frisk could see the casual interest on his face, but they could sense that he was considering something. Frisk could sometimes sense intentions of monsters in battle, but they hadn't sensed Sans's intentions like this before. He was never obvious about them. Perhaps it was because they were close to him? Or was it something else?

The human was musing on it when their entire body jolted back at attention. Cool magic brushed against Frisk's Soul, treating them to a sensation they hadn't felt in years. They felt breathless, fingers clenching unconsciously against the rock they were sitting on. Focusing on their Soul, they saw Sans's fingers barely brushing their Soul. They could taste the blue magic that Sans was a pro at even though he wasn't using it. They couldn't understand what they were feeling, but they noticed that San's cheekbones were stained just a bit darker in their vision.

Sans stared at the hovering Soul, barely acknowledging the slightly trembling human next to him. His entire body tingled with magic, but it wasn't his own magic. Just the brush of his finger against this Soul was enough to overcome his magic three times over. He didn't know how humans could live with such energy inside of them. He felt like he was drowning, but at the same time he didn't want to stop.

Frisk's emotions and thoughts hovered at the back of his mind. Their confusion and their questions. The bliss and the chill they felt from his magic. His name repeating over and over shakily in their mind, as if they couldn't even keep their thoughts steady. This reaction was different than the last time he had done this with them. But then again, this was a completely different scenario.

Sans ran his finger a little down the side of the Soul, not quite touching it. Frisk let out a shuddery breath. Their thoughts were surprised as they realized they hadn't been breathing right. Sans felt powerful in more ways than one. The urge to release his physical matter and blend his magic with theirs was there. Their Soul would swallow his up. A puddle of water in a lake. Still, the urge was there. It didn't help that Frisk was also desiring it despite the tang of fear persistently warning both of them.

This was more intimate than anything he had done with Papyrus. He loved Papyrus, but the feelings they shared when their magic and souls were this close was nothing like this. This was tense and burning. Frisk was completely under his control if he really wanted to do anything to them, but at the same time Sans would destroy himself in the process. He didn't want to find out what would happen if he touched their Soul directly. The blue of his magic as his fingers dissolved just a little and touched the Soul was bright against the lightening sky.

"S-Sans . . ." Frisk breathed, body trembling just a bit more. A new sensation reached Sans's mind. It was heavy and thick. He didn't know what it was exactly. He had never felt anything like it before. Frisk seemed to recognize it, though. Image after sultry image passed from their thoughts into his. Sans's eyes widened from their half-mast state in realization. This was what arousal felt like. It was . . . strange. He supposed he could see why Frisk enjoyed it. It made him antsy, but he wasn't sure how to resolve it. He knew these were just echoes from Frisk's own body.

Frisk closed their eyes and swam in the cocktail of emotions they were feeling. It was a little embarrassing for their body to be reacting the way it was. They were completely vulnerable, and a part of them was terrified for this. However they trusted Sans and knew he wouldn't hurt them. Not like this. Not right now. At the moment their fear just wasn't powerful enough to rise above the tide of Frisk's desire. It took all of their willpower not to move their Soul further into Sans's touch. Their body ached to turn around and kiss him.

It was almost too much. Frisk was going to break. Sans pulled away right before what self-control they had snapped, and they gasped as they broke the surface of their sensations. Their concentration on the magic holding their Soul out of their body broke, and suddenly Frisk was solid and whole and heavy again. Sans's hand grabbing the back of their shirt and yanking them to lay back with him on the stone was what saved them from toppling to their death. Their body hummed and thrummed with magic and arousal. They had to swallow a couple of times and grip their shorts tightly in order to ground themselves.

Sans was staring at them. Frisk took one more moment to regain some more of their bearings before they turned their head to meet his gaze. It was heated despite everything. Frisk wondered exactly how much he had seen and felt of their thoughts, and then became a little embarrassed as they realized exactly what their heated mind had come up with. Some of those things certainly weren't plausible.

Sans's eye sockets looked like starry skies again, sending Frisk's slowing heartbeat back into a gallop. He was so beautiful. The pinks of the sunrise burned across his skull. Mischief clouded the innocent sight as his grin widened. "'magic cock'?" Sans quoted one of Frisk's rather desperate thoughts.

Frisk covered their face in mortification. "Shut up." They said, lifting their shirt to hide their face more as Sans's laughter filled their ears.

"pervert."

"You caught me off-guard."

Sans's finger (the naughty finger that had caused all of this) tapped Frisk's knuckles. "interesting thoughts."

Frisk spread their fingers to peek at him between them. They hesitated before asking, " _Can_ magic be used like that?"

Sans snorted and sat up, chuckles rumbling in his chest. He stood up and brushed his shorts off as he gazed at the sunrise climbing over the mountains. The morning mist was thicker now, and lights were starting to come on in the cottages down below. "how about you practice that and let me know how it goes."

Frisk dropped their hands and sat back up. The scraping of the rock against the backs of their legs helped to ground them some. They didn't respond to Sans's suggestion, deciding it more prudent not to embarrass themselves anymore. They shifted their legs, rubbing themselves a bit. The sight before them was beautiful, but it would be nice if they could get somewhere private. Even without Sans reading their thoughts, Frisk could tell he knew what they were thinking as he snapped a picture on his phone of the sunrise and laughed more at Frisk's situation. Frisk huffed to themselves. Sans could be such an asshole sometimes.


	12. Chapter 11

Camping, Frisk decided, was fun. Camping in the heat was not so fun. The mosquitoes kept attacking them while so rudely avoiding Sans. Bug repellent smelled bad. They didn't have the heart to kill the mosquitoes even as they were bitten. Sans had started slapping them instead if he spotted one on Frisk.

"don't think i don't know about the diseases they carry, pal." He told them as he wiped one of the dead bugs off onto Frisk's shorts. Frisk made a face at the poor bug even as they began to scratch at one of their many bites. What a cruel way to die. "your folks won't be happy if you caught something on this trip."

Frisk had almost pointed out that with all of the world travelling they were doing, they wouldn't be surprised if they caught some foreign disease, but they decided to keep it to themselves. They didn't want to jinx it. They had already fallen ill twice. Luckily they had received a number of vaccines in preparation for the trip. They hoped that they were worth it.

The tent Sans and Frisk were staying in was extremely large (due to it being a monster tent to prepare for every type of monster) but a pain to set up. But when it was set up, it was like a small bedroom. It was very easy to cook a warm meal with their portable stove and roll out their sleeping bags. Frisk just wished that it wasn't so hot. They had resorted to just hanging around in their underwear, not quite willing to go fully naked yet.

The heat was too unbearable to actually sleep in yet. Their body wasn't accustomed to it or the humidity that clung to every bit of their skin. The loud songs of crickets and cicadas were extremely distracting and left Frisk unable to even lay down to sleep. If it wasn't for the fact that the ground was harder than the sleeping bag, Frisk would forgo it as well just so they wouldn't have to deal with the stuffing suffocating their back.

"you'd better sleep." Sans warned, his voice ragged with his own drowsiness. Not for the first time Frisk envied his ability to sleep anywhere and anywhen.

"Too hot." Frisk complained, rolling off of their sleeping back and curling up against Sans's bones. His jacket and shirt lay strewn across the ground considering he hadn't been expecting any sort of cuddling on that night. Frisk didn't mind that there wasn't any padding for the moment. They entertained themselves with running their fingers over his smooth bones. Here and there were some bumps. When they touched some of the sockets, they could see the damage Sans had explained was from fusion practice. It was what allowed Sans to pop off his joints whenever he pleased. If Frisk pressed their fingers into the joint, his bones would pop off.

Sans made a quiet sigh of contentment. Frisk watched his rib cage expand and contract despite the lack of lungs. They gently and carefully slid their hand up the inside of his vertebra, watching Sans's reaction in case he told them to stop. His eyes stayed closed, though. His body stiffened only slightly at the foreign touch. Frisk wondered what it felt like. A part of them was nervous to see their hand inside of him. Their skin prickled.

"Sans?" They asked quietly. There was a soft patter on the roof of the tent, and then a distant rumble of thunder. Ah, so that's why it was so humid. They hoped it didn't rain too badly. Sans hummed, poking his eye open just a bit. Frisk's eyes jumped to his and then back down to their hand where they wiggled their fingers without touching his bones. "Can you feel this?"

Sans considered not answering, but he could tell this was going to be one of those nights where sleep wouldn't come easy to Frisk. And when sleep didn't come, they asked questions until they got sleepy. It had been a while since they had asked questions about Sans, though. He was already exhausted and slightly wary thinking about it.

"sort of." He murmured, somewhat reluctantly. "i can sense the magic in your hand more than i can actually feel anything."

Frisk blinked, surprised. "You can feel magic in me?"

"yeah."

Frisk stared at their hand, and then moved it to touch his scapula from the inside. Sans shifted a little at the sensation. "And now?"

"feels like you're touching me."

Frisk trailed their fingers back down Sans's spine and watched him shiver just a bit at the feeling. Automatically they kissed his sternum. Sans tensed some as Frisk trailed back up the spine and pressed a kiss to one of his ribs, so they stopped, hesitating. They took a moment to put themselves in check before pressing a reassuring kiss to his sternum again. Their slow touch returned to curious movements. Sans relaxed again.

Silence reigned between them as the rain began to pick up more. Frisk saw the tent light up outside at a flash of lightning, followed by another thunderclap, closer this time. The rain was becoming heavier. The sound was soothing to Frisk, reminding them of days curled up in their mom's chair with them as it poured outside.

"Am I touching your soul?" Frisk asked him, breaking the silence.

"nah." Sans sounded more awake now. Frisk couldn't help the small smile at that. It was always a little funny waking Sans up properly. His own hand had crept its way to Frisk's hip, slipping his fingers a little beneath the waistband of their underwear so that he could cup only skin. A frisson of want burned its way through Frisk's body, but it was acknowledged and ignored. They instead scooted closer to him, pressing their legs to his. Sans yawned and rolled over, throwing one of his legs over theirs. Frisk scoffed a laugh. It was a good thing skeletons didn't have body heat. Frisk found it amusing how Sans had become so used to cuddling. They vaguely recalled a time when he had been somewhat uncomfortable with it.

"But your body is made of magic." Frisk protested, confused.

"doesn't mean my soul is being touched by you anymore than i'm touching your Soul right now." His hands slid over the bare skin of their lower back. Goosebumps scattered across their body at the pleasing scrape of his bones. They considered probing him for a back scratch.

"What if I brought magic to my hand?"

Sans's eyes opened at that, watching them with wary but curious eyes. ". . . probably." He finally said, after considering it for a few long moments.

Frisk brought their hand out of his chest to instead spread their fingers across the top of his rib cage. Sans was still watching them, a silent witness to their thoughts. They looked away from their hand and instead met his eyes. ". . . Can I?" They asked.

Sans took a breath. They could see his confliction in the very minimal expression changes on his face. Frisk knew what it felt like for Sans to touch their Soul, but only brushes of it because otherwise he might accidentally absorb their Soul (or so they both feared). Humans, Frisk knew from their history lessons, could not absorb monster souls. At least, not in the same way that monsters could take human Souls. But Frisk was also aware of how personal it was and how _intimate_.

Frisk blushed a little as they also realized they had essentially just propositioned Sans. Their heart rate picked up at the thought.

". . . alright." Sans finally responded softly, sounding a little breathless. "try it then."

Frisk swallowed thickly. He had accepted. They had honestly not expected him to say yes to their thoughtless question, but now he had been given permission. The pressure of his consent weighed on them, the importance obvious. Sans had offered himself to them. That was something they had never expected to receive from him; not after everything they'd done. Sans had only offered himself up to one other previously that Frisk knew of. They would take their responsibility seriously.

Pulse beginning to race, Frisk summoned up their Soul. Through the vision of their Soul, they focused on Sans's body and located his soul within it. The small white upside-down heart was bigger than the last time they had truly focused on it. Papyrus's training with Sans had really paid off in more health for the smaller skeleton. Frisk was relieved to see proof of what they had been told. A part of them that had been worried about possibly causing damage relaxed. If Sans had still had one health left, then a single bit of damage would've dusted him.

Magic burned on their hand that made them feel as if they had dunked it into a warm bath and swirled their hand around. The sensation right under their skin was bright in the vision of their Soul. The red magic coated their hand as tentatively they let the magic seep past the physical body of both Sans and Frisk and towards the bright white soul within Sans.

Sans's hand immediately clenched around Frisk's hip. Frisk froze, their magic stopping its careful process. They could feel the call of Sans's soul tingling just outside of their fingers. Their magic itched to touch. They forced themselves to focus through their physical eyes to look upon Sans, but he wasn't seeing them. His eyes were shut and clenched. It didn't look like he was in pain, but rather with confusion.

"Sans?" Frisk asked, worried.

Sans's eyes fluttered open, and it took longer than a moment for the lights in his sockets to come back on. His breathing was a bit more ragged than usual. He focused on Frisk's face. "i'm good." He reassured them. The clench of his fingers relaxed to something a little less painful.

"How does it feel?" They questioned, not completely reassured. They didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

"like." He stopped, breathless. Despite Frisk's hand physically being on his chest, they also felt as if their hand was _in_ his chest. The duality would've been mesmerizing if they weren't so used to their vision being so skewed whenever they used magic. "like . . . the lake in the summer."

"My magic." Frisk agreed.

"i can feel the heat." Sans sounded a tiny bit amazed by that.

"In you?" Frisk asked, eager to hear more. Sans looked amazingly young, almost like when he had seen a galaxy for the first time through his telescope. The lights of his eyes were starting to spark, almost turning into the stars Frisk loved most to see.

"yeah." His eyes met theirs. "keep going."

Frisk nodded, grinning. His excitement was infectious, but they could feel the tentativeness in him as well. The closer their magic got to his soul, the more they realized they were sensing from him. The sensation of their magic in his body rebounded into Frisk's own chest. They could sense his soul trembling at the near proximity to Frisk's magic, but they weren't quite sure why until they brushed over his soul.

Immediately both of them gasped, bodies bucking towards each other automatically. It was almost enough to break the connection Frisk had on Sans's soul, but the magic clung together and refused to let go. Frisk's mind swam with sensations and thoughts that they weren't sure were their own. Power flowed through their veins. They felt like they were on fire, but they wanted to burn. They were drowning in the energy even as they wanted to swim lap after lap. Confusion and elation and curiosity swirled in a maelstrom in their mind. Their body was warm, and they could sense their physical body reacting. The urge to press further into each other was there; Frisk's need echoed by Sans's body (or was it Sans's body being echoed by Frisk's?). They wanted to kiss Sans and dig their fingers into Frisk's skin and they wanted to press their sex against Sans's hipbone and they wanted to bite the soft skin of Frisk's neck because they loved the sound the human made when they did.

Frisk's forehead bowed to press against Sans's skull as wants and needs clawed and dragged around in their thoughts, mixing with Sans's until Frisk couldn't tell what was them and what was him. They were distantly aware that they were gasping, each breath not enough to fill needy lungs. They could feel the icy-heat of Sans's soul encased in their magic, fluttering and electrified. Frisk knew that if they wanted to, they could snuff out the little light they held. It would be so easy.

Fear crept into the emotions in the back of their mind, and it took Frisk too long to realize it was a steadily-increasing panic. They were only vaguely aware of pain alerting their mind from various parts of their physical body as Sans's bones dug too hard into their skin, but it was lost beneath the tide of Sans and Frisk's combined experience. Why was there fear there? Why were they scared? No, rather, why was _Sans_ scared?

 _Sans_. Frisk thought. His name repeated in their head, more confused with each echo. They couldn't seem to get past that thought until the fear began to overcome every other emotion.

"n-no!" Sans's voice startled Frisk and their eyes snapped open. They couldn't see anything at first, baffled, until Sans's whole body was in front of them again. The lights of his eyes were small. His thoughts finally translated into words in Frisk's mind. _hurt. no. no. kill me. no. NO!_

Frisk gasped as they were suddenly back in the judgement hall, only they saw a figure before them. They recognized that hair and that shirt, but the smile on their face was not theirs. This was someone else. Dust coated their body. Pain sliced across their chest suddenly and liquid coughed out of their own lips. Frisk looked down at themselves to see a familiar blue jacket, red fluid leaking from their chest. Bony hands shook as they clenched their wound-

and then Frisk was flinging themselves away, body scrambling from Sans in the same moment Sans was struggling away from them. Panting filled the air. Frisk could still feel the tingle of Sans's magic on their hand, but they felt unbearably cold. They curled in on themselves and sobbed once, holding their chest. They couldn't breathe properly even though they could feel air filling their lungs. They felt too confined even though they had space. They wanted to dig their fingers into the ground and drag them. Everything hurt, but they felt so _powerful_. They hated it.

They didn't calm down quickly. It was a gradual process for Frisk to come back to themselves. The separation between "Sans" and "Frisk" didn't become clear until an uncountable number of minutes had passed. Frisk had to stare at their hands, questioning why they looked the way they did before they understood that their hands had always looked like that. They weren't Sans. Still their mind swam with confusion. Their sense of identity was disorganized.

Neither Sans nor Frisk spoke to each other while they reoriented themselves with their sense of self. Once they did, and the panic had passed, they both shakily looked at each other. Guilt filled Frisk's chest. They had accidentally hurt Sans. They had both been forced to relive something horrible. That wasn't meant to happen. It was supposed to be something pleasant. They had messed up. They had hurt him.

"I'm sorry." They whispered, but their voice was rough like sandpaper and as weak as the brush of a feather. They weren't sure if he had heard them over the pounding of the rain. Thunder cracked overhead. The tent held firm. They tried to apologize again, but it didn't come out much louder.

Sans looked away from them and ran a hand over his skull. "i'm . . . i'm alright." He finally said. His own voice sounded brittle. "that wasn't . . . what i was expecting."

"I'm sorry." They apologized again. It was their fault. They had hurt Sans when he had made himself vulnerable to them. They didn't understand why they had to always hurt those they cared about.

"it wasn't . . . don't worry too much about it." He took a breath. He still wasn't looking at them. "neither of us . . . knew what would happen. but i kind of . . . guessed something like that might."

Frisk didn't respond, but their unasked question hung in the air.

"it was probably, uh . . . too much. at once." Sans didn't sound overly sure. If anything he sounded small. Vulnerable. Frisk had made him like that. They curled more into themselves, trying to make themselves less of presence in Sans's space. They didn't want to hurt him anymore.

They didn't know how to respond to him. Everything they felt they could say just seemed terrible.

Silence overtook them for a period of time again, and Sans took the time to recover his defenses. He was calmer now. He uncurled from himself, and Frisk could sense his shields were back up. He was the normal Sans again, only a little weaker. He hesitated before he moved back over to his sleeping bag. He watched them, waiting, but Frisk couldn't bring themselves to get closer to him. They had hurt him again.

Sans patted the sleeping bag next to him in an offering Frisk didn't take. He sighed and stared at the wall of the tent. "it's alright, kid. it was an accident. not every . . . situation like that ends well."

"I'm sorry." They whimpered again. "You . . . you trusted me and . . ."

"i'm fine. we're both fine." Sans looked exhausted, although he tried to keep his voice light. "it was just too . . . overwhelming, y'know?"

Frisk did know. They felt it too.

"You." They swallowed. Their throat felt dry. "You thought I would . . . crush your soul?" Their voice tilted up into a question as doubt spread through their mind. What if _Sans_ hadn't been the one to think it? What if it was _Frisk's_ first impulse to think about crushing his soul? The thought chilled them even more, stealing the breath from their lungs with a punch.

Sans cleared that up quickly. ". . . yeah."

Frisk didn't trust themselves to reassure him. Not with their own doubts in their head. They hadn't been able to tell the difference between what had been them and what had been Sans. How many of those thoughts were really theirs?

"like i said." Sans murmured. "too much at one time."

"I'm sorry." Frisk responded, sounding weary now. Fear was being suffused out and replaced with sorrow and guilt.

Sans acknowledged the apology, but didn't reassure Frisk. Somehow that made them feel better.

"listen . . . uh." He paused and then continued, "if we . . . feel up to it . . . we can try again maybe. slower next time." He turned their head to meet their eyes. ". . . alright?"

Some part of Frisk felt relief that thereir might be a "next time". Even excitement. Tentatively they nodded. Their nerves and emotions were shot. They didn't know what all they were feeling anymore.

Sans patted the sleeping bag next to him again before he laid down and turned his back to them. Frisk uncurled stiff legs and crawled over to their sleeping back. The air was cooler now with the rain, but it didn't help them. They laid down and closed their eyes, not daring to touch Sans again. They felt too sensitive, and they were sure he felt worse. Frisk closed their eyes with a shaky sigh. Next time (if there really is a next time) they would be very careful. They wouldn't hurt Sans again. They were determined not to.


End file.
